Deceptive Appearances
by Criminalmindschick221
Summary: A bitter man, twice rejected from the BAU decides it's time to get his revenge. The team goes into hiding, but even that is no match for this unsub. When they are abducted and put through tests that will push them to their limits, the only way for them to stand a chance is to band together and try to desperately to do the one thing that they had always taken for granted: Survive.
1. One Day

**"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." **

T.S. Eliot

* * *

They were given one day.

All of them. One day to get out of town, one day to gather up their things, one day to pack up their lives: a pretty extraordinary task.

But it was a task that had to be done and it had to be done quickly. They were to take their most important belongings and subtly say goodbye to their friends without tipping anyone off to where they were going or even that they were. The point was that they had to leave and do it quietly.

In a small temporary apartment among the suburbs outside the city, a brunet woman was hastily packing up her things. She put most of her clothes in a large, black suitcase and then in a separate duffle bag (her carry-on bag) she had her passport, all of her certificates, pictures and other important memorabilia. Everything that she didn't have in those two bags was staying behind to be cleaned out after she left. As she sat down on her bed putting the last items into her suitcase, she suddenly felt sad. It made her sad to think that she could fit her entire life into two mediocre bags.

A cat sat perched on the windowsill. It turned its head away from the window to look at the woman, big green eyes wide with what she could only describe as wisdom. It let out a quiet meow as if whining.

The woman smiled at the cat that had given her comfort for so many years. She walked over and petted it gently on the head. "Don't worry, Sergio. Someone will be here to pick you up tomorrow. You'll like them, I promise. And maybe someday I'll be able to come back and get you."

She wished that she would be able to, but somewhere deep down she knew that this would be the last time that she ever stepped into this apartment and would probably be the last time she ever saw her cat again too.

Thinking that, she gave him a quick kiss on the head, picked up her bags and exited her apartment. Vainly, as she left, she hoped that even if she would never see her cat or apartment again, that at least her friends wouldn't suffer the same fate.

Across town, there was an older man starting to pack his things as well. He had dark hair speckled with grey and a few boxes full of belongings important to him along with a second suitcase full of his clothes. As the time to board his plane neared, he did one final walkthrough of his enormous house.

He didn't want to leave.

He was sure that none of them did, but they had to.

And he knew that, he didn't like it or want it, but he knew that it was necessary. So, with hesitation and sorrow, he left his mansion.

A few neighborhoods over in a considerably smaller, but quant house, a man and a woman had just finished packing. The man had dark hair and deep dark eyes while the woman had contrasting blonde with dark brown eyes to match his. They had a lot of suitcases full of belongings, most of which belonged to their son. He smiled apologetically over at his wife as he zipped up the final suitcase. "I'm sorry about this. I wouldn't even be considering it if I didn't think it would be completely necessary to keep us all safe."

The woman nodded slowly, "I know. But at least you'll finally have some time off. And its summertime so Jack won't have to start at a new school either. Hopefully, we'll be able to come back before the fall."

The man nodded, hugged his wife and answered, "Hopefully." Even though he knew they wouldn't.

Before the woman could reply again, a small boy rushed into the room. "Mommy! Daddy! When are we leaving?" He asked, jumping up onto the bed. He grinned at each of them.

The man looked down at his watch. "We should probably leave soon." He smiled at his son, "Are you excited to ride on the plane, Jack? All the way out to Arizona? You're gonna like it down there buddy, it's nice and hot."

Jack nodded excitedly, "When I told my teacher we were going to Arizona she said that there were coyotes there! What's a coyote?" He asked, looking at either of his parents for the answer.

The woman laughed and sat down next to her son, "A coyote is like a wolf. They howl at night, do you know why?" She asked him.

Jack sat up, fascinated. "No! Why do they howl?"

The woman smirked, "Well," she started, "Once there was a coyote named Chester. He was mischievous, always causing trouble like a certain boy I know." She tickled him before continuing, "Well one night, Chester ventured off into the forest and got separated from his parents and friends. He searched and searched, but couldn't find his way back so he climbed up as high as he dared and let out the loudest, longest howl that he could." The woman then howled.

"His family and friends heard his howl, followed it and found him. They were so happy to be reunited that they decided to howl every night together as a pack just in case someone was lost so that they could always find their way back home." She finished with a smile.

Jack grinned and then let out a loud coyote howl.

His mom joined in a few moments later. They both looked at the man, willing him to join in and sure enough, a few moments later, giving in to his wife and son, he chimed in as well. It must have been peculiar for their neighbors next door to hear, but they didn't care. In that moment, they were happy.

In an apartment in the middle of the city, a large muscular man with dark skin and warm brown eyes was packing as well. He finished rather quickly, but then left his house and visited with one of his close friends, a woman with light blonde hair, glasses and a rather extravagant personality.

Today though, she was crying.

"Why did this have to happen to us? I love it here, I love all of you guys, I love my job! I don't want to leave." She shook her head.

The man put his arms around her, "I know Baby Girl, I don't want to leave either, but we have to. It'll be alright. Wherever you go, I'm sure you'll make an impression." He chuckled, "Just make sure you don't forget me."

"Forget my chocolate thunder? Never in a million years." The woman smiled, patted him on the chest and then loaded her stuff into her car.

"Bye." She said.

"Bye." He replied.

And that was it.

Lastly, there was a woman, living in a small suburban house just outside the city that was also packing her stuff up. Inside, there was a man with her. His stuff was already packed and sitting in the front room, he was only there to help her pack her things.

She packed slowly, like she didn't want to leave, like she was dreading it.

The man looked over at her from where he was putting some of her things into a box, "Alright. Tell me what happened." He said expectantly. He could tell that something was bothering her.

She let out a long sigh and started the story. "Will and I were talking and I…I told him about this…situation, how we had to leave tonight and he said that he didn't want to go. He said that he had just moved here for me and wasn't ready to move again. He wasn't rude about it though. He just leveled with me. He said that he loved me and he wanted to be with me, but he wasn't ready to move across the country and drop out of society with me. I guess I don't blame him. This is all…overwhelming."

The man shook his head, "Well he should have stayed. If he thought it was overwhelming for _him_ then he should have looked at it from your perspective and seen how hard it was for you. He shouldn't have left." He said.

The woman looked up, a defensive look in her eyes. "He's not a bad person, Reid." She used his last name to show that she was serious, "Can you imagine if you had to move away from your friends and family to be with a girl? Well Will did and now I can't expect him to drop everything for me again."

Reid wouldn't give up that easily. He shook his head seriously. "Well, it's not right. You shouldn't be going through this alone." He protested.

She raised an eyebrow, "But you're going through the same thing…alone."

He looked at the ground and nodded, realizing her point. He gave her a small smile, "Well…we can keep each other company for the time we have left then." And then he let out a sigh, "I'm really gonna miss you. I wish we could at least tell e_ach other _where we were going so I could send you a letter or something."

The woman walked over and hugged him, "I'm gonna miss you too. And I would tell you, but…I can't. No one can know where we're going. If one person, even if it's you, knows…then he could know." She smiled, "When this is all over…I'll find you."

He nodded and looked at his watch. "Woah, Jayje, we have to go."

She sealed the last box and loaded it into her car, "I know. I don't want to though." She gave him one last hug and then they both walked out of her house. Waving, they climbed into different cars and pulled out of the driveway.

**A week earlier**

It was a crisp early morning when the team members of the BAU were awoken by their phones. They each received a call from the unit chief that basically said: Come in ASAP - No details. So they did. They rose wearily from their beds and each made their commute to work.

The last ones to arrive were Emily and JJ. They pulled into the parking lot at the same time, noticing that the rest of the team was already there.

Emily parked quickly and then walked over to JJ's car where JJ was climbing out. "Good morning Jayje." She smiled brightly at her friend.

JJ was confused by Emily's happiness, "Why so chipper?" She asked as she locked her car and started walking towards the building.

Emily followed and shrugged, "I guess I'm a morning person."

JJ's eyes widened and she stopped walking, giving her friend a long look before replying, "Okay." She muttered sarcastically. "We'll pretend like that's true." And then she continued walking towards the building.

They walked a few more steps in silence before Emily spoke again, "Do you know what this is about?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. They had been called at 3 in the morning; usually JJ was the one who knew what was going on, being the media liaison and what not.

"Actually no." JJ answered shaking her head. She let out a long yawn, "All I know is that I was in the middle of the best sleep that I've had in a long time when my phone rang so this better be good."

Emily sighed, "Define good."

And then they entered the building. As they passed through the doors, the first thing they saw was the pit busy with people rushing in all directions. There were men in suits, women in skirts, and even SWAT team members standing up on the catwalk.

"Woah." JJ heard Emily say from beside her.

The two women walked up the stairs, across the catwalk, past the SWAT members and into the conference room where they found the rest of the team already sitting. In the middle of the table was an envelope that was ripped open.

Garcia's eyes were puffy and there were tear stains on her cheeks. In her hands, she held a letter.

Strauss was standing up by the TV screen. She looked up from the table when Emily and JJ walked in. "Agents." She nodded at them, "Sit please."

They did so slowly, hesitantly.

Garcia finished the letter and pushed it into the middle of the table.

JJ looked up at Strauss for a moment and gulped, getting ready to speak. Momentarily, her eyes flickered down to the paper on the table. Stapled to the corner of this letter were small pictures. She could see that it was a stack of them, black and white, disoriented and messily stapled to the paper. She opened her mouth to speak, to ask what was going on, but her eyes went back to the photos. She realized that she recognized the one on the top of the stack. Before she even got the words out, she lunged for the letter and looked at the photo.

It was Will.

It looked like he was walking; there was tray in his hand with two coffee cups in it. He wasn't looking at the camera; he didn't know his picture was being taken. She remembered him bringing her coffee from a few days ago. This picture must have been recent.

Thinking that maybe Will had a stalker, she went through the rest of the pictures. Among them was an African American woman that JJ recognized to be Morgan's sister, a picture of Reid's mother in the hospital, Haley and Jack walking in the park, a picture of Rossi's ex-wife, and at the bottom of the stack was a picture of the whole team gathered together for a dinner they went to after a big case a couple weeks prior.

JJ looked up from the paper, completely stumped. "What is this?" She asked.

Hotch sat forward, hands folded on the table like it was some kind of business meeting. "Pictures of all the people we care most about." He said, "We thought that Detective LaMontagne was yours, but we weren't completely sure why…"

JJ blinked, shaking her head slightly. She hadn't even told the team about her and Will yet. From the looks she was receiving she knew that they already had their speculations. "We're…I…um…" She blinked again, completely dazed.

Without even finishing her sentence, she started to read the letter, maybe not even consciously. Her eyes just drifted to the printed words below the pictures and she started to read.

_Dear Behavioral Analysis Unit, _

_ I am pleased to inform you that, due to my own precautions, you have no idea who I am. Of that, I am sure. In these upcoming weeks, though you will never find out my identity, you will see me as what I have intended: you're worst nightmare. The BAU, while it is full of some of the greatest minds in the country, it is corrupt. I believe that the strength of this team is advertised to be much greater than it actually is. Now, you are profilers. And when you get this letter you will profile me. Narcissist, probably, sadistic, yes. Maybe even a psychopath. Well, I'll make it easy on you. Here's my motive. I tried to get into the BAU and failed and now, years later, upon the arrival of the lowest point of my life I thought: where did I go wrong? The answer is that I didn't. I'm brilliant, cunning, but apparently I was not good enough to get in. So I worked hard. I hit the books, got another degree and came back a few years after my rejection. The second time they turned me down again. I figured that it wasn't meant to be so I became a professor, got married, had 2 kids. Life was good until I found out my wife was cheating on me. We got divorced, she took the kids. And now, I just have time and anger, lots of it. So there you go, you're work is cut out for you. You'll probably get your analyst to look me up, but there will be nothing there. You'll still try, I know you will. I've already taken precautions, I know you're every step of profiling and I have eyes everywhere…I will know what you're going to do before you've even initiated it. You see, I'm a profiler too. I took the classes, all of them, and I know the tricks. I'm also a researcher, I've been planning this for months so I prepared. I've been getting the research on all of you. And now, my narcissism is kicking in, I feel the need to show you. That brings me to the pictures._

_On top, we have Detective LaMontagne. Charming, isn't he, Ms. Jareau? Does your team know about him yet or is that just another secret you've built up on top of all the others? You interest me. A media liaison with a big heart, a lot of passion, but no trust. Even after all the years you've spent with them, you're still keeping the most basic secrets? I think deep down you're a lot more sensitive, I think you leave things unspoken because you know if they come up, you're emotions will run wild. Like your sister? What about her? You'd think that all that horror at such a young age would at least get mentioned every once in a while, but you're secretive, private I guess. I respect that, but as for your co-workers, they may not be capable of understanding._

_Second on the stack is Morgan's sister. She's nice, Derek. I like watching her, it gives me joy. You must be angry now, that happens a lot, doesn't it? The anger? All the time I see you angry, the vein in your neck popping out, eyes livid. People may think that's some kind of strength, security maybe? But I see insecurity. That man, when you were young, what he did to you…it's still in your mind and I can see that. That anger that you have, I think it buds from that insecurity. Maybe you want to enforce your masculinity because deep down you're insecure about it. Don't worry, Derek. I won't hurt your sister, she's sweet. I just want you to think before you start getting angry. Think about what it really means. And why you do it. _

_Oh now we get to Diana Reid, such a nice woman, but as for the visions that seem to plague her mind, it seems quite the opposite. Her screams in the middle of the night during a nightmare, they're…horrifying. I see a small Reid sitting in his room, reading. He hears the screams and covers his ears because he knows that even when he tries to help, it only makes it worse. Schizophrenia is a scary disease, I can only imagine what it would be like if I had to consider if I would be inheriting it. Don't be scared, Dr. Reid, you're mother would be happy to have you join her. _

_What's next? Haley and Jack Hotchner? Oh yes, such a cute pair those two are, but what a shame that there is no father. I mean, there's you, Aaron, but how much are you home? You work all day on a case and then do reports afterwards. Jack is growing up without a father and let me tell you Aaron, Haley is noticing. Even though this is short, I'll leave you with that. Consider what you have Aaron and if you're willing to lose it over something as superficial as a job._

_And then there's Rossi's ex-wife. Even though you are divorced, I think that there's still love there. And I know what she told you Rossi. How I know is none of your business, but I do know. She does not have long, Dave. The time you have left should be spent with her. She needs someone. Your life is the one I'm most sorry for in all of this. I am sorry, Dave, but not for you. I'm sorry for your ex-wife. She doesn't deserve to suffer, but maybe you do._

_Lastly, Emily and Penelope. I searched and searched for someone that they cared about, but it turned out that their only true family was this team. So to both of them I say, the bond you have with them better hold strong._

_BAU, I am going to test you. I want to see for myself if the "strength" that you are supposed to have truly exists. So, in conclusion, I will tell you to watch your back because I'm always watching. And I always will be watching. _

JJ blinked a few times, setting the letter down on the table in front of her. "I…" She trailed off, having no comment to describe how she was feeling.

Next to her, Emily picked up the letter and read it for herself. When she finished, she too fell into a shocked sort of trance.

No one at the table spoke for a long time.

It was Strauss who finally broke the silence. "The headquarters do not like the idea of the BAU being hunted. They insist on taking action…that action being bringing in a new team to temporarily relieve you of your duties and their first case will be this one. As for this team, you will each be relocated to classified destinations with your families as long as this guy is out there. And I'm sorry, but…everyone leaves tomorrow."

JJ sat up, staring at Strauss. "Tomorrow?!" She exclaimed, eyebrows raised.

Strauss nodded, "I know it's sudden, but the letter is sudden. And we want to move as spontaneously as possible to throw him off guard."

Silence fell over the table again, no one wanted to speak, no one had anything to say.

Strauss broke the silence a second time. "I'll hand out your new locations, but I caution you. Do not share these with anyone unless they're going with you, not even anyone on this team. No one is supposed to know." She warned before walking around the table and passing out files to each team member.

Emily got her folder first. She opened it carefully so that JJ could not see inside of it. Warily, she looked over it. She would be moving to Culver, Oregon. And luckily, because Emily had never heard of it, the folder said that it was a small town just outside of Seattle. Population: 1, 360. _Great. _Emily thought sarcastically.

Hotch got his after Emily. He scooted his chair backwards a little bit so that neither of the team members sitting beside him could see the file. He was going to Winslow, Arizona. Population: 9,409. He didn't mind that, he even thought that maybe Jack would like it there. It might even be nice to get some extra time with his family.

Morgan found out he was going to Baton Rouge, Louisiana which unlike the others, was actually a big city, the capital of Louisiana. Population: 230, 058. He shrugged a little bit, thinking that would be alright, maybe even fun.

Garcia was going to Columbus, Indiana. Population: 45, 429. She didn't know how to feel. It was just a kind of numbness towards the whole idea, a kind of numbness towards the whole situation.

Rossi was going to Buffalo, New York, which wasn't bad. He didn't mind that. He'd heard of Buffalo before and he knew that it was a big city, not too big and not too small, which he liked. The population was 259, 384.

JJ read that she would be going to Aspen, Colorado. Population: 6,680. She knew a lot about that place actually because she used to ski a lot with her family and that city had a huge resort. Too bad it was summer time.

And lastly, Reid received his folder. He opened his slowly and read through only to find out that he was going to be moving to McCook, Nebraska, a city right next to the Colorado border, by Denver. Population: 7, 652.

No one moved for a couple of minutes. It was JJ who was the first to stand. She looked around the table at each of the team members. "I love you guys and I hope you'll all stay safe, but I have to go. I need to go…talk to someone." She looked around the table, meeting eyes with each of them before walking out of the conference room.

Reid was next to leave, he didn't say anything, let his eyes do the talking. And by the looks he gave them, he knew that they knew how he felt about them.

The rest of the team got up all at once, saying their goodbyes intermittently before exiting together like a team. Outside, a man was standing in the bushes, a camera in his hands. He snapped pictures of JJ as she rushed to her car, of Reid as he sulked down the sidewalk towards his apartment and then the rest of the team as they left the building together.

He almost thought that was nice, the unity that they had, but then he realized that JJ and Reid weren't there and he shook his head. This team wasn't unified: they weren't a team at all. He smiled a little bit. They weren't going to get away from him that easily. Wherever they went he would follow, let them settle in and then, at the right moment, he would finally put his plan into action.

* * *

**"You have had a dream for so many years. Let today be the day you make a plan for it. Just think about how much more likely you are to hit your target when you finally aim at it."**

Steve Maraboli

* * *

**A/N: Okay so, I don't know why I started this story. I know I have a lot of other stories that need to be updated, but this idea was just stuck in my head and I had to get it down. And I meant to finish one of my other stories before starting a new one, but I just really wanted to post it now. I hope you like it and I promise I'll update my other stories too! Don't forget to review!**


	2. The Domino Effect

**"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten."**

Marie Antoinette

* * *

To say that Emily hated airports would be an understatement. The maze of security precautions, while completely necessary for safety, were extremely inconvenient. When she walked through the scanner with her arms over her head, they stopped her because of a small piece of metal attached to her shirt. By protocol, they had to pat her down. And after that, the bag before hers got stopped on the conveyor belt so she was stuck. It was a while before they finally finished searching it and pushed the rest of the bags through. She was thankful that it was finally over.

Before her flight, she went and got coffee which she took with her as she boarded the plane: 451 to Seattle. From there, she was told that there would be a rental car already paid for in her name that she would drive to Culver, specifically to the address she was given.

Once in that new city, she would be known as Emily Parks. They were supposed to use different last names so that they could not be tracked, everything else could stay the same. She would also be taking a part time job of a secretary in the nearby police station. That role would include filing case reports and also helping to organize the police reports coming in. It didn't sound challenging, especially after the line of work she had been in before.

The plane ride was long, 5 hours and 15 minutes. She tried to sleep, but the coach seat she was sitting in wasn't like the nice leather seats of the private jet she was too used to flying on.

It landed at 6:00 west coast time which was 3:00 east coast time. She got off the plane and walked through the crowded Seattle airport. It was a long walk to the rental car location, but when she finally got there the car was waiting for her. It was one of the new Ford Focuses, a white one, which she appreciated. It might have been small, but she didn't have that much luggage anyway and she thought it was cute.

After finishing the registration, presenting her newly printed license, she drove the car out of the garage and into the pouring rain. They did say that it always rained in Seattle, she wondered if that was the same for Culver.

In a few days she would find out the answer.

It was.

It was so rainy in that little town, every single day since she had arrived it had rained, some days it was just light sprinkles in the morning and then towards the afternoon she almost thought the sun would come out, but it never did. Other days, it was a full on downpour, leaving Emily cooped up in the small house she was staying in.

It was a one story Ranch-style house with a garage for her car and large windows in the living room, giving people full access to watch whatever she was doing or watching on TV. She silently made a mental note to buy some curtains.

If she walked through the living room, there was hallway that led to four doorways. Two on her left and one on her right: the master bedroom.

That bedroom that she resided in was large, with a comfortable king bed in the center. A large bathroom was attached to it. While taking a bath one night, she found out that the tub was a Jacuzzi. That was a pleasant surprise.

The first door on the left in the hallway was a laundry room where she already started to wash some of her dirty clothes. The second door on the left was a small office with a large window just next to the desk. She would need more curtains.

The final door was at the end of the hallway, it lead to a second bedroom with a twin bed against the wall and a beautiful chandelier-lamp thing hanging from the ceiling.

The kitchen was attached to the living room, it was small, but cozy and there was door on the other end of the kitchen that lead to the fenced in backyard. She thought about getting a dog just for some company, but then she wondered what would happen to it when she returned to Virginia. Would it come too? Or would she give it away?

_What the hell. _Emily thought. _I don't have any say in what happens in my new life so I should be able to buy a dog. _

That night, she left her house and went to the pet store. They had a small selection of dogs and just as she was about to give up, one puppy jumped on her leg. It was a black lab, an all American dog. It's big brown eyes met hers and it barked, saying hi.

Emily smiled and picked the small dog up in her arms. He was the one, she was going to take him home. Petting the puppy lightly, she walked over to the man standing inside the puppy pen.

This man, he had perfectly messy brown hair that was cut just above his ears. His eyes, as they traveled up from the puppies and met Emily's, they stunned her. They were a deep, soulful green that she couldn't look away from.

"I'll be with you in a moment." He gave her a smile and continued working on the puppy in front of him, trying to give it some flea medicine. It growled at him, but he rolled his eyes and smiled. "It doesn't even hurt. He's just a little grumpy."

Emily smiled.

The man stood up all the way and looked at her, "You want to take this little guy home?" He asked, petting the dog in her arms gently with the tips of his fingers.

Emily nodded.

"Alright, well you might want to put him down for a little bit, while I set you up with some food, maybe a collar, a manual, and maybe a cage?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Emily nodded with a small shrug, "Yea I'll get a cage." She said.

"Good, I was hoping you would. Dogs need cages, especially puppies because they're still getting potty trained." The man grinned and led her around the store, picking up the large bag of dog food and throwing it over his shoulder. And then he grabbed her a small collar, two dog bowls, and flea medicine. After he put all of that at the register, he got a cage from the back and a manual.

"Alright," he smiled and held out the manual, "this will answer every question that you have about dog care, hopefully. And for the transaction, we need a name for the dog. If you can't think of anything, we can mail it to you and you can mail it back later if you'd like."

Emily leaned forward over the counter, "What's your name?"

"Jackson Bridges."

Emily nodded, "Perfect."

"Jackson or Bridges?"

"Jackson."

He raised an eyebrow, "Jackson? For a dog? Seems kinda long."

Emily nodded, thinking. With a shrug she added, "Jack?"

He smiled and nodded, writing it down on the paper. After that, he struggled to load all of the stuff in her Ford Focus, but with persistence, got it to fit. And then, he walked her back to her car with the puppy.

"So you just moved here?" He asked.

She looked over at him, "What gave me away?"

Jackson shook his head and gave her a small smile, "The clothes definitely." He chuckled, "You look like you're on your way to business meeting or something."

She detected the sarcasm in his voice and joined in, "Sorry I left my overalls at home."

He laughed, "Hey!" He said, feigning insultment. "I'm kidding. I thought you were new because I've lived in this town my whole life and if I had seen you before now, I would have remembered." He told her, "But why you moved here is beyond me. I'm going to guess you didn't move here for the view. Did you get a job or something?"

Emily nodded, "Secretary at the police department, part time."

Jackson whipped his head towards her, "Really? I work there too during the week and then I weekend I help my dad out with this store, my family owns it. You may not believe it, but I'm pretty close to becoming a police officer."

"What took you so long?" She smirked. He was about her age and she had managed to already get into the FBI.

Jackson shrugged. "I'm indecisive. Thought I wanted to be lawyer, started law school and dropped out after my second year and then I got a degree in Philosophy, which was fun, but had absolutely no purpose. And then…I decided I wanted to be police officer."

"Why?" She asked.

Jackson looked at the ground and then over at her, not looking like he wanted to share.

Emily immediately felt bad, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"

"No it's alright. My sister went to Seattle for a job, it's a big city, but she said she would like it there. A year went by and I didn't hear from her, no calls, texts, not even a letter. So I went to Seattle looking for her, but…she wasn't there. Her apartment was full of her stuff and there was an eviction notice on the door. I called the police, but they…couldn't find her either." He sighed, "They still haven't."

Emily looked over at him, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He opened the door for her as she put the puppy in the backseat, "Listen…you seem really nice and I'd love to show you around town sometime, maybe get to know you a little better. Would you like to go out to dinner with me? Maybe sometime next week."

Emily turned around and smiled at him, pulled a piece of paper out of her purse and scribbled her phone number on it.

He took the piece of paper and smiled, "I'll call you then."

She smiled, "I'll see you at work." And she got into the car and drove home.

The puppy settled into her house easily, it was loving and cleaning up after him and taking care of him definitely passed the time. Her first day at work was uneventful. They taught her how to do everything, none of which she found challenging and after a few hours of work she went home. Life went on like that for two and half weeks before Jackson called.

They went out on a date that weekend, he took her "sight-seeing", using quotation marks as sarcasm because everything that he showed her really wasn't extravagant. That night, they went back to her house and before she went inside, he gave her a gentle kiss goodnight.

This place was definitely a lot more traditional, this man was a gentleman, unlike a lot of the guys she dated in the city. Those men were arrogant, took her for granted, but Jackson…he didn't.

A month went by before Jackson finally _spent the night._ And boy did he.

Emily was finally starting to settle into this town and her dog, Jack was getting big now. He would be a great guard dog soon.

Another month went by and she barely noticed, when the third one went by she didn't even care. It was almost like she didn't want to leave now. Things with Jackson were getting serious, she was starting to get a running routine going with Jack and her job was still extremely easy. Life was good.

Until she got the letter.

It waited by her front porch for two days before she brought it in.

When she saw that it had no return address it made her suspicious, but as her profiling skills were getting rusty, she opened the letter anyway, thinking that it was a mistake from the post office.

But it was not a mistake.

He took precautions.

As she read the letter, horror spread across her face.

That night, when Jackson came by her house to pick her up, he noticed that all the lights inside her house were off. As he approached the door, flowers in his hands, he peered through the large window and saw that the living room was empty. Figuring she was in one of the other rooms, he rang the doorbell.

Inside, he heard Jack barking, but no footsteps coming to answer the door.

Minutes passed and Jackson became worried, he reached into the plant by the door and pulled out a spare key, unlocking the front door. "Emily!" He called with a smile, hoping that she was sleeping.

As he searched the rooms, he became nervous. She wasn't in any of them. Her dog followed Jackson around, just as nervously, searching for Emily as well. Jackson's last stop was the garage. When he opened the door, he saw that there was no car inside.

He shook his head and walked back into her bedroom, looking through the closet, there no clothes. She had packed up her things before leaving.

And now, after all this time she was gone?

Why?

Where did she go?

Knowingly, across the street, a man watched the actions unfold. He stared through the living room window as this man questioned why the woman would leave him. The man in the car smiled, he knew.

His plan had finally started.

The domino effect. That's what it would be. Emily was the first domino and slowly, the others would be knocked down until it finally ended.

And there as the last domino fell, he would be waiting.

* * *

**"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."**

Aristotle


	3. The Missing Link

**"There is only one kind of shock worse than the totally unexpected: the expected for which one has refused to prepare."**

Mary Renault

* * *

It had been three months.

To Morgan, Baton Rouge had become his home. When he had first moved there, it was a foreign place. He had been told to go by Derek Williams and that he would be working at the Louisiana Police Academy as a trainer for the Baton Rouge Police Academy. That job suited him and he would admit, he even came to enjoy it. He liked to help people, but was also very social, liking to interact with the people he was helping as well. And, like the FBI, this new job gave him both.

During his time in Louisiana, he made friends with a few of the other instructors at the Police Academy. They were his closest friends there and often on the weekends they would go out for "guy's night" to get away, most of them having wives except Morgan.

That was another change.

He was no longer called Morgan, most people called him Derek. A lot of people had called him that before, but he had also gotten used to being called Morgan too and now that his last name changed, at work people called him Williams. It took time to adjust, but eventually he started to identify himself with that name.

At the Academy he had also developed some relationships with some students, mostly the ones who were struggling and needed his attention. He bonded with a few of them and was happy to receive letters from the seniors who had graduated and advanced to their jobs in law enforcement.

Derek even had a scare once.

Detective LaMontagne had returned to the police station to visit some old friends. Those friends, coincidentally, happened to overlap with some of Derek's new friends.

He was worried that if the Detective saw him at this job, he would realize that Derek had moved and would maybe blow his cover so when he saw the familiar Detective, he tried to lay low and avoid him, but Will sought him out.

He walked up to Derek, "Hey there." He said, his southern drawl heavy.

Derek glanced around, looking for any type of witness, but none of their friends were around, which was relieving. "Detective." He gave him a small nod.

Will gave him a crooked smile, "Don't worry. JJ told me about what was happening to you guys, how you all had to move…" He trailed off for a moment and then continued, "She asked me to go with her, but…I said no. I moved to Virginia for her and I guess I was just scared to drop my whole life to be with her, scared of commitment and all that stupid guy stuff." He shook his head. "I…I realized after she left…that I made a mistake. I think I love her…and now, she's gone. So when I saw you I just wanted to talk to you…and ask if you had any idea where she was moved to?" He asked.

Derek shook his head, "They thought that even if we knew each other's locations that he would be able to find out." He said, "But if she asked you to go with her, didn't she tell you where she was going?"

Will shook his head with a small smile, "No. She was smart. She said I had to make a decision first and if I was going she would tell me, but I said no so I never found out. I guess I can't blame her, at least she's safe."

Derek nodded, "Listen Will, you should just wait until this all blows over. I think that JJ really liked you and she won't move on quickly. Hopefully, if this ends soon, you can still get her back." He held out his hand to Will.

The detective shook it firmly, "Alright. Thanks man. I'll see you around." He gave Derek a nod and left.

Will never came back for another visit. Sometimes Derek wondered if he had gone looking for JJ after that, maybe started searching for her, but hopefully he didn't. Because if he did find her, then that meant it was just as easy for the unsub to do the same.

After that, Derek fell into a rut, but the weird thing was that he didn't mind it. At the BAU, his life was spontaneous and unpredictable which was interesting, but it was also nice to have stability in his life for once too.

This place, these people they made him forget about why he had moved.

At first, he had hated the idea of hiding. He would've rather faced this man, hunt him rather than be hunted by him. It just felt cowardly and that was definitely not his style. But then, he would think of Jack and Haley, of Garcia, how they would be wrapped up into something dangerous. And that would make him accept the move. He would accept hiding if it meant keeping them safe.

Sometimes when he laid down to sleep, he would think of the team.

Hotch, JJ, Reid, Garcia, Rossi, Emily.

He would wonder where they were and if they were adjusting as well as he was.

He would miss them and an emptiness would set in. An emptiness caused by not knowing where any of them were.

And then he would drift into sleep and wake up the next morning, not remembering the thoughts he'd had the night before.

Until one night, a letter arrived for him.

No return address, of course.

He had a lot of mail that night so after a few bills and other mail, he opened that last letter carelessly. As he read it, his face reddened with anger.

The next night as his friends gathered at the bar for their "guy's night", Derek failed to show. They would wonder where he was for a moment and then carry on, typical men. It would be that Monday morning when Derek didn't show up for work that they would start to worry.

By then, it would be too late.

* * *

In Winslow, Arizona, Hotch was cuddling on the couch with his wife. They'd had the opportunity to do that a lot lately because Hotch was working in a white collar crime unit, giving him an easy 9 to 5 job. He was home a lot more and had the chance to reconnect with his family. He didn't realize how much he had been missing, being at work that often, but at least now he could make it up.

Also, just like Derek, because of his last name change, he went by Haverford at work instead of Hotch, and Aaron at home and to his friends. He didn't mind that too much, it was the least of his worries about the move.

Luckily, Jack loved it in Arizona. He made friends with the kids in the neighborhood easily and just about every day he would go outside to play with them. Because of his interaction with all those kids, Hotch and Haley became friends with most of their parents.

Aaron also enjoyed his new job, it was a lot less gruesome than his old one. It was also a lot less work too, so his stress level went down drastically. The dark circles under his eyes disappeared and his smile was not such a rare occurrence anymore.

The three months that passed gave them all time to relax, but in the back of Aaron's mind he still knew that a man was hunting them. He made sure to be cautious, no being on TV, no stories about him in the newspaper, nothing. The last thing he wanted was to be found.

The last thing he wanted was for his _family_ to be found.

The man that was hunting them, he seemed smart, cunning. The way that he profiled them, the way that he seemed to be a step ahead of all of them, Aaron was almost sure that the man wouldn't give up. He would try to find all of them and with his intelligence, Aaron knew that eventually he would. He just hoped that the new BAU team would find him first.

As he sat on his couch that night with Haley under his arm, he let those thoughts slip away. He just watched the movie with her, adding a few comments here and there, and rubbing her arm lovingly. He was just happy to be with her.

Towards the end of the movie, during the most intense moment of the whole thing, the doorbell rang. Aaron stood up and gave his wife a quick smile, "I'll get it." He jogged over to the door and opened it. Standing in front of him was the mailman.

"Hello sir." He said politely.

Aaron looked at the man, "Hello. What can I do for you?"

The mailman reached into the bag he had with him and pulled out a letter, "I have a letter here for an Aaron Haverford." He looked up at Hotch, questioningly.

Aaron gave him a smile, recognizing his new last name. "That's me." He said.

The mailman nodded, "A man at the post office gave it to me, paid me to deliver it straight to you, said it was urgent." He held out the letter.

Aaron looked down at the letter, "Can I ask who?"

The mailman smirked, "He didn't say." He said with a small shrug.

"Alright, thank you." Aaron took the letter from him carefully. His instincts were kicking in now, they told him to be suspicious, to be careful. He had a weird feeling that this was about the man that was hunting them.

He had no idea how right he was.

"Aaron." He heard Haley call him from the couch, but he didn't move. "Aaron…" She sing-songed, amusement in her voice.

Aaron was frozen. He had finished the letter.

Haley got up off the couch and walked up behind him, rubbing his shoulders. "Who was at the door?" She asked and upon seeing the letter, asked a follow up question, "What's that?"

Aaron stood up. "Haley…I'm so sorry. I love you and Jack so much, but I have to go." He said, urgency thick in his voice. He turned around, letter in hand and started to walk up the stairs.

Haley followed him, "Aaron, what are you talking about? Where are you going?"

Aaron turned around to face her, "I'm so sorry." He leaned in close, "He found us Haley. And I…I can't tell you why, but he wants me to leave. And I have to do it, alright? He won't hurt you while I'm gone, I promise. If anyone asks where I went, tell them…tell them I left. I don't know come up with something, but don't worry. You'll be safer without me here. It's me that he wants."

"That's what I'm worried about." Haley looked up at him, "I trust you and if you have to leave…I'll let you, but please don't get yourself killed out there. Stay safe, okay?" She hugged him quickly, "I love you."

"I love you too." Aaron said, rubbing her back. "Tell Jack I love him too. I'll come back once all of this is over, I _will _come back."

With tears in her eyes, she nodded. "You better."

* * *

Penelope Garcia, now Penelope Garner, was not adjusting as well as her team mates in her new location. Columbus, Indiana was a nice town, she liked living there, she just had trouble forgetting. She couldn't stop crying and everywhere she went, she felt paranoid.

That lasted for about a month.

During her second month, at her tech support job, she actually started to make some friends. They started to see the bright, cheerful Penelope that she had hidden for all that time.

The third month was hard on her, she missed her old life. This one was lonely. She had some friends in Indiana and even a flirtatious relationship with one of the other guys at her work. They were all nice and she liked hanging out with them, laughing, but her old friends were family to her and she couldn't just let them go.

One day, she missed all of them so much that she decided to try to figure out where each of them were. Maybe one of them was close, maybe they were all close. So she hacked into the FBI system that she was all too familiar with and then tried to find the file, but it wasn't even there. The case was there, the letter was in it, but the only thing it said about the relocation was just that each team member had been moved to a new undisclosed location. There was no way for her to find it, it must have been written somewhere so that the unsub couldn't hack in just like she was.

That disappointed her, but also brought on a little comfort. This truly was a secret location, no one knew where they were. And that meant that the unsub wouldn't know either, right?

Wrong.

About a week after her attempt, she got her letter.

Tears spilled out of her eyes as she read it. "No." She whispered as she finished. Hesitantly, she rose from her table, looking around, afraid that he was watching her.

He was.

She paced for a long time, considering what to do.

The letter had given her specific instructions, but she wasn't an agent. She was just a technical analyst, not brave enough to pull off what the letter described. There was no way.

She shook her head.

She had to find a way.

With her team in mind, she started to pack and then that night, she left.

* * *

During his time in New York, Dave would come to find out that Buffalo was the second most populous city in that state, just after New York City. It was extremely crowded and the thick history of the city, brought in a lot of tourists, especially this time of year.

The job that he was given was a background investigator at the police department which was basically just a fancy name for the person who does background checks on new candidates for law enforcement jobs and new candidates for a higher security clearance.

Essentially, all he had to do was investigate the person and determine if they were fit to perform the duties that they were applying for.

This was an easy 9 to 5 job that gave him a lot of free time, with that, he started learning new recipes to add to his repertoire and even started to write another book.

He expected that this would last for a few months and then, the new BAU team would find the unsub and they would be allowed to return to Virginia and pick up where they had left off. He wondered if that would be hard for some of them, if maybe they had gotten too used to their new lives to be able to return seamlessly to their old ones.

He didn't think it would be hard for him.

He was excited to return to his mansion, but as for the rest of the team, maybe they didn't have anything worth returning to.

Three months into his life in Buffalo, Dave got his letter.

He immediately knew what he had to do: what everyone before him had done.

Leave.

And so he did.

* * *

Reid, much like Garcia, hated his new life at first. McCook, Nebraska was nice, not exactly glamorous, but that wasn't what he wanted anyway. He liked the simpleness of it, it suited him. The place wasn't the problem, it was the job he had been given.

Being a doctor and all, the HQ saw it fit for him to take on the job of a professor at a small nearby college, McCook Community College. Subject: Psychology. He wasn't a full professor because he didn't have a teaching degree so he just assisted the existing professor, helping to give the students a "one on one" teaching experience, as they called it.

Well, Reid, now known as Dr. Reynolds, was not good with people. He taught them everything they needed to know and more, but he was awkward about it and it seemed like none of his students were understanding the lessons. He didn't mean for that to happen, but…that was just who he was when he was first getting to know people.

He felt like none of the students liked him, he could hear them whispering about how he was genius, but didn't have a teaching degree, that he wasn't qualified to teach them.

It was high school all over again.

And that was why he hated it.

Luckily, as time went on, he started to find his footing as a professor. He knew how to teach the students, he knew how to get through to them so that they would learn what they needed to know to pass the class. That was all they wanted, to pass, and if he gave that to them, they wouldn't dislike him like his first students had.

As he became more confident, his students fed on that, they started to connect with him, they started to like him and Spencer started to like them.

That was when he started to like his new life.

It may have taken two months for him to really settle in, but at least he had finally settled in.

One more month passed, with a new group of students to keep Reid entertained. Teaching was an involved job and he liked that, it kept him busy and kept his mind off of the team, who he missed and his home, which he wanted to return to.

One day, Reid decided to try one of his jokes again. He remembered when he was speaking at a seminar with Rossi and he had told a joke, no one laughed, but he felt confident about this one. And he was going to take a chance with it.

The professor that Reid worked with was in the middle of a lecture on the mind of a narcissist. Reid knew a lot about that, but he stayed quiet and listened, not wanting to give the impression that he knew too much about it.

"Narcissism defined is excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one's physical appearance." The professor said, reading from a book. "A person who is a narcissist, has a self-obsession, a need to be admired for who they are." He explained.

For about an hour after that, he went on to describe more about narcissism and finished the lecture by explaining how extreme narcissism could sometimes lead to crime and murder. When he was done, he looked over at Spencer, "Anything to add Dr. Reynolds?"

Spencer looked up from where he was, smiling a little bit. He stayed seated, looking at all the expectant faces waiting for him to say something. "Nope…actually, I just have a question for you, professor." He said.

A couple of giggles came from the crowd of students.

The professor smiled at him expectantly, "Alright."

"How many narcissists does it take to change a light bulb?" He had decided to stick with another light bulb joke.

More chuckles came from the students.

The professor's smile grew. "I don't know, Dr. Reynolds, enlighten me."

Spencer smiled, "Just one. All he has to do is hold it in place while the world revolves around him." He answered.

Laughter burst from students.

And Spencer felt proud of it. That day, he was proud.

He went home happy, picking up the mail that was on his porch. After he cooked his dinner, he went through all the letters, most of which weren't important.

Except one that he found in the middle of the stack.

It was from _him_.

And when Reid finished reading it, he just grabbed a bag, stuffed some clothes in and left, without even bothering to turn his lights off.

* * *

Only 456 miles away from Reid's abandoned house, JJ was sitting in her expensive Aspen condo. She was typing hurriedly on her computer, she had a deadline that she had to meet. The new job she had been given was a journalist. That was how she had started out years ago, before she even knew she wanted to join the FBI.

She liked it, but wasn't as passionate for it as she had been at her old job.

As a journalist, she wasn't going on the news or anything like that. If she did, that would just give the unsub easy access to finding her. So she stuck to finding the "hard-hitting" stories of Aspen reporting them on the life-less pages of the newspaper.

The move was hard on JJ in the beginning.

She was lonely without Will.

He had just agreed to move up to Virginia so that they could see each other more often when this happened. Their relationship had been finally taking off, but this had ruined it all. Of course he didn't want to move with her. He would have had to drop his entire life, change his name and move across the country and for what? A girl he had only been with for a few months. It was crazy.

But she still wished that he had come.

This would have been so much easier with someone else to keep her company, but she pushed through, threw herself into her work, trying desperately to find something to make it interesting. Aspen during the summer wasn't as exciting as it was during the winter, no ski resorts were open and most of the celebrities only visited during the winter. Except JJ had seen Kate Hudson shopping at a nearby shopping center, at least that was finally something interesting to put in the paper. Unlucky for JJ though, the editor had cut the whole article out of the final paper, saying that it lacked detail.

She hated the editor.

Who was he to go over what she wrote and decide that it wasn't good enough? Why didn't he tell her what he was looking for beforehand so that maybe she could have a chance at getting it right? It seemed like every time she talked to him, he had something to criticize about her.

"Oh hey Tom," she said as she passed him in the hall, "did you like my article this week?"

The man, Tom, stopped walking and turned around to look at her. "What exactly did you write about again?" He asked.

JJ stared at him, "Uh, I wrote about the baseball player from the minor leagues who was diagnosed with a fast-acting cancer and survived to go on and coach his own little league team." She said, refreshing his memory.

"Oh, oh right…" Tom shrugged. "Eh…" He said, "I liked it, but…just didn't feel personal enough. Maybe if you put an interview with him and his family in it, I can put it in next week."

JJ nodded, "Alright." She said.

The next week, she had interviewed the man and his family, gotten heart-felt interviews and re-submitted the article to Tom again. It never made the final cut.

A week later, Tom approached JJ at her office while she was writing. "Hey JJ, listen…I was reading the article you wrote about festival they had in the park last weekend and I thought the interviews were great, I just think that you should go back and rewrite the part you wrote. I just didn't think that it fit well with the story." He said.

JJ looked up at him, tilting her head. "You want me to rewrite the whole thing?"

"Yes, but keep the interviews. Those were good and the story is good, just needs better…content, alright? Good. Thanks, JJ, keep up the great work." Tom said as he walked away.

JJ turned to the brunet woman who worked at the desk next to hers, one of her closest friends in Aspen. They'd bonded a lot over the three months, both single, both around the same age, both uninterested in journalism. They hung out a lot after work, either at JJ's apartment or hers. She was glad to have her, it made Colorado feel more like home.

"Can you believe him?" JJ asked her, "Rewrite the whole article? Doesn't he know that I have other deadlines I have to meet?"

The brunet woman chuckled. "He's full of it. I say, finish your new article, submit it, so he forgets about the old one and then just resubmit the same old article to him. I bet he won't even realize that you didn't change anything."

JJ nodded and gave her friend a smile, "Smart." And she did just that. When she submitted the old article again, Tom came back and told her that he loved the improvements she made.

"Brooke, you are a genius." She said once Tom had left.

She nodded, grinning at her friend. "Tom is a jackass. I've learned how to deal with him over the years."

JJ turned around in her chair so that she was facing her, "Why have you stayed at this job so long? You seem like you could do something better, something more exciting." She said, staring at her.

Brooke shrugged, "You know what? I don't know. I guess this job pays the bills and I don't want to leave and risk not getting another job. I don't exactly have the money to be able to risk it just yet." She said.

"But don't you want to do something you're passionate about?"

Brooke nodded slowly, "I will…someday. But what about you? Why did you take this job? I know that you hate it." She said with a smirk.

JJ shook her head, "It's complicated." She gave her a shrug.

Brooke looked at JJ, wondering for a moment about her past, "That's okay. You don't have to tell me, I get it. Shady past, huh? Very mysterious. I like it." She laughed for a moment, "I was a sheltered kid, a goody-goody so…I really don't have any good stories."

JJ smirked, "A goody-goody? I don't believe that."

She shook her head, "No really I was. I never did anything bad or interesting. I grew up here, went to high school and college here, and now I have a job here. I'm never going to get out."

JJ smiled and met her friend's eyes. "Here's a thought. Why don't you just leave? Do something crazy. Quit this job, move to New York, live in a cheap apartment. You want to be a novelist, right?"

She nodded.

"How do you expect to write a book that inspires people if you've never been inspired yourself?"

Brooke gave her a long look, "You know what? Maybe I will, but if I do, you're coming with me. We could split the rent. I'll write and you can do whatever your calling in life is."

JJ smirked and shook her head, chuckling.

"No I'm serious, we could do it." Brooke said, "I know you hate this job. In New York, you could find something that you really love…something a lot more eventful than this."

JJ thought of her team and her situation. Surely, she wouldn't be able to just pick up and leave. They had given her this house, they were paying for it. "Brooke…I can't, right now. It's…not a good time for me."

"Oh okay…" And Brooke dropped it after that, JJ could tell she was disappointed, but by the next day, she had completely forgotten about it.

A week after that, JJ passed Tom in the hall again. This time, she didn't say anything, but he stopped her. "Hey, about that article you submitted yesterday. I didn't like it."

JJ looked at him for a moment, offended. "Okay…?"

"Okay, I just wanted to tell you." He gave her a small shrug, "I don't know what it was…I just couldn't get through it. I suggest you go back and look at it, to try to make sure you don't write like that anymore." He said.

"Excuse me?"

Tom looked confused, "I said…I think that you should go back-"

"I heard you, Tom, but I'm not going back. You know what? I don't need this. I don't need to take this from you, you're a jackass! And not just to me, to all the journalists. I may not be the best writer in the world, but I don't need you reminding me about it all the time." JJ said angrily.

Tom didn't say anything at first, but after a few moments he turned and pushed the nearby door to his office open. "My office, now." He said, pointing at the doorway.

JJ gulped, realizing what she had just done. What would happen if she lost her job? Would they help her find a new one or would it all be over? Would she have to find one on her own? Would they even know? She sat down in the chair across from the desk, where Tom sat.

She stared at him, blankly, not wanting to apologize.

"JJ, you've been with this newspaper for three months and I have to say, out of all the journalists you are the biggest pain in my ass. I don't know if you realize that you are the only one out of all of them that turns in every article on the deadline. It used to be small piles that I had to read at every deadline, but ever since you came, they've grown. While, your hard work and persistence may be a pain in my ass," he smiled a little bit, "it is also greatly refreshing. I admire you, Jennifer and your work ethic. I've been so hard on you lately because I want you to get better and I wanted to give you motivation and inspiration to prevail against considerable doubt." He gave her a small smile, "I'm sorry...I might have played into the villain role a little too much."

JJ smiled a little bit, "Yea maybe…" She said sarcastically, "I'm sorry about…what just happened. I was just really…mad at you."

Tom nodded slowly, "Fair enough. I'll try and give you more positive feedback."

JJ paused, looking up at him. "I'm sorry I called you a jackass." She said slowly.

Tom laughed a little bit, "I'm sorry I said I hated your article."

"Uh, you only said you didn't like it…"

Tom tilted his head, "Oh…I hated it." He said jokingly with a smile on his face.

JJ stood up, "Alright fine, rub salt in the wound, that's fine." She shook her head and started walking towards the door, "I should probably get back to work now."

"Don't be a stranger, alright?"

JJ nodded and then walked out of his office and back to her desk where Brooke was waiting for her.

"What the hell just happened, JJ? Did he fire you?" Brooke asked, in a panic.

JJ shook her head and smiled, "No. Turns out…he's actually not a jackass." She said with a small shrug.

Brooke stared at her for a moment.

"What?" JJ asked, seeing her friend staring at her.

Brooke smiled a little bit, "You have a thing for him." She laughed lightly.

JJ looked up defensively, "I do not!"

"Alright, alright. I'm just saying…you've always cared too much about what he had to say about your articles, you hated him a little too much and now, you look like you just met the love of your life, all flustered and such." Brooke teased lightly.

JJ rolled her eyes, "Fine believe what you want to believe. Tom and I…that's not going to happen." She said firmly.

And that shut Brooke up until the end of the day. "Night JJ, see you on Monday. Better get started on that article, Tom will be expecting it by Sunday, especially from you…"

"Go home, Brooke." JJ joked, watching her friend walk out, laughing. She followed a few minutes later. The drive home was short, but when she finally did get home, there was a letter on her porch.

She opened it as she walked inside.

And as she read it, her car keys and the half-empty cup of coffee felt out of her grasp and to the floor. Her hands shook as she bent down to pick them up. "Oh god…" She gulped and walked upstairs, packing her bags quickly and loading them into her car.

She drove 7 hours and 25 minutes to McCook, Nebraska that night where she went directly into the police station, showing them a picture of the man she was looking for. One officer recognized him. She lied, said she was his sister and asked where he lived.

The office gave it away happily, because bad things didn't happen in this town, he assumed that JJ was only going to do good.

She sped down to the apartment building the officer had sent her to.

Panicked, she knocked on the specified door only to realize that it was unlocked. Cautiously, she walked inside. All the lights were on, but the one person that she had come to look for was nowhere to be found.

* * *

During that night and into the morning, the rest of the team members also reached the locations they had been traveling to reach.

Morgan took a 4 hour and 30 minute flight to Indianapolis where he then took a cab to the nearby town of Columbus. The house that he had traveled so long to get to was also abandoned. When he realized that, he searched her house quickly for any signs of why she would leave, and he was interested to find her computer unlocked. The page that popped up when he turned it on was the website for US Airways. She had just purchased a ticket from Indianapolis to Buffalo, New York. Confused, but still deeply concerned for her, he searched for the latest flight to the same location, bought a ticket and then left for the Indianapolis airport again.

Reid didn't arrive in Oregon until the next day. He had taken the 10 hour overnight flight to the airport in Redmond, Oregon where he took a taxi to Culver, which was only 23 minutes away. When they got close to his destination, a house, the street was packed with police cars so Reid just paid the driver, got out and walked towards the scene. There were already neighbors gathered around watching as the police officers searched the house.

_Oh god, I'm too late. _

He walked to the edge of the caution tape, "Excuse me!" He called.

A police officer walked over to him, hands on his belt. "Can I help you?"

Reid stared past him for a moment, noticing a man sitting on the steps outside the house, eyes red with tears. He didn't have a uniform, but Reid could tell that was part of the team by the sympathy that the other members showed towards him.

"Yes, uh, what happened? I'm a friend of Emily's and I was just coming to town to visit…" He said truthfully.

The officer nodded slowly, "It appears that Ms. Parks has deserted her home. We are assuming no foul play was involved, considering that she had packed a bag before leaving and left in her own car." He said.

Reid nodded grimly, a sad look on his face. "Alright…"He said, "Thank you officer." He added and then, stumped, confused and concerned, he left to go check into a hotel so he could do some research.

While sitting in the airport, waiting for her flight time to arrive, Garcia pulled out her computer. She knew that Rossi was in Buffalo, probably in a police department. With a quick search of names, she came across a David Reinfeld. With a couple of simple clicks, she pulled up a picture and sure enough it was him. Using the search engine she had hacked into, she pulled up his credit card records.

He had purchased two things.

A plane ticket to Grand Canyon Village, Arizona.

And a day later, a very expensive plane ticket to Aspen, Colorado.

After writing down the phone number listed under Rossi's new identity, Garcia shut her computer quickly. The flight Rossi was about to get on to Aspen hadn't left yet, if she boarded a flight for Aspen now, she might be able to call him and meet him in Colorado before he moved again.

But first, she had to get a flight.

So she went to the customer service counter and after a few surprisingly easy steps, she was able to use her frequent flier miles to board a flight to Aspen. "Thank you." she said, "Thank you so much."

And 20 minutes later, her plane was leaving.

While Reid was arriving at her old house, Emily had just landed in Baton Rouge. It had been a long flight, but it was worth it in her eyes…to find him.

It didn't take much to do that either, once she arrived in Louisiana, she thought it would be best to check the Police Station first. She asked if they knew a Derek.

"Derek Williams?" The man asked.

Emily looked at him, "Tall African American guy, dark eyes, bald head?" She asked him with a small smile coming to her face.

The man smirked and nodded, "That's him. He works at the Police Academy. That's a few blocks away from here. If you go down there, I'm sure he can help you." He said.

So Emily did.

She took a cab to the Police Academy and asked for Derek there.

"He didn't show up to work this morning." The man at the desk told her.

Emily bit her lip, "Oh god." She muttered under her breath. "I…I'm an old friend of his…I knew he worked here, but I didn't know where he lived. Do you think you can help me out?"

The man looked hesitant, "I'm not supposed to disclose that information to strangers."

"We're old friends!" She insisted.

The man was just about to say something else when he was interrupted by a third voice joining their conversation. "Well hello there!"

Emily turned around to see Will standing there behind her. "Detective LaMontagne, good to see you." She stared at him, an urgent look on her face. She didn't care if he blew her cover, she just needed some help, his help. Casually, she gave him a quick handshake.

The man behind the desk looked from Will to Emily, "You two know each other?"

Will smiled, "Yea! I've known her forever, she helped solve my father's case." He told his friend, "Whatever she needs, you give it to her, that's the least you can do after all she did for the police department."

The man stared at Will for a moment and then nodded, trusting his friend. "Alright." He smiled, "Sorry for the trouble ma'am." He scribbled down the address on a small piece of paper. "While you're down there, tell him he needs to call in before missing work next time."

"I will! Thank you." Emily said quickly, turning and walking out.

Will followed her, "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Emily stopped for a moment, "I think Derek might be in trouble." She said quickly as she started to get into a taxi, "Thank you for what you did back there. I'll put in a good word with JJ." She joked lightly.

Will chuckled and nodded, "Good luck."

It took 10 minutes to get to Derek's house, it was a large apartment on the third floor. When she knocked on the door, no one answered. So she knocked again.

No answer.

Just as she was getting ready to kick the door down, one of his neighbors walked out of a nearby apartment.

He looked at her, "You looking for the guy who used to live in there?"

Emily nodded, "Yea." She said, not liking the "_used to" _part of his statement.

The man nodded, "He left yesterday. I saw him walking with a bunch of bags, didn't look like he was planning on coming back. Sorry sweetheart." He said.

"Thanks." Emily muttered.

When the man was gone, she reached down and checked under the welcome mat for a key.

Nothing.

She walked down the hall and looked in the plant at the top of the stairs.

Nothing.

She went back to the door, reached up to the top of the door frame, barely able to grab the key that was hidden there.

Relief flooded through her.

She pushed the key into the lock and went inside, searching through his apartment. He had left in a hurry, but to where?

That question was answered when she looked on the kitchen table. Scribbled on a piece of paper was:

_Baton Rouge to Indianapolis: _

_United: 4 hr 30 min_

_Indianapolis to Columbus:_

_47 mins. _

_Total trip:_

_About 5 hrs and 30 mins with traffic. _

_Should arrive at 12:30 AM._

Emily cursed, picked up the piece of paper and then left the apartment to return to the airport.

Rossi's plane landed in Grand Canyon Village, Arizona at about 7:30 that evening. When he arrived, he rented a car from the airport and drove 2 hours and 20 minutes to a house in Winslow, Arizona that he hoped was the right one. He exited the car quickly and knocked lightly on the front door. As he waited, the porch lights switched on and he heard the locks on the other side of the door being undone.

It swung open to reveal Haley Hotchner standing in front of him.

They were both shocked to see one and other after so long, but Rossi broke the silence quickly. "Haley, is Hotch home?" He asked.

Haley shook her head, staring at him. "He…he just left. What are you doing here, Dave? How did you find us?" She asked him.

Rossi shook his head, "That's not important now. When did Hotch leave?"

"About an hour ago, said that he had to go and told me that he couldn't say why, just that he had to because the man had found us." Haley told him quickly, "Why? What's going on?"

Rossi stared at her for a moment, "I need to find him. Did he say where he was going? If he was driving or flying? Anything, did he tell you anything else?" He asked.

Haley nodded quickly, "He told me to buy him a plane ticket at the Grand Canyon Village Airport for a nonstop flight to Aspen." She told Rossi.

"Colorado?"

"Yes."

Rossi started backing up, "You said he left an hour ago?" He asked, now halfway to his car.

"Yes."

Rossi nodded, "He could still be on the road. I have to go right now to catch him before he gets on the plane. Don't worry, Haley, everything's fine. I just have to find him right now, alright? Everything is fine, don't worry." He repeated as he got into his car and sped down the street, not caring about the speed limit right now. He just had to catch Hotch.

Speeding down the road, he made it to the airport in 1 hour and 55 minutes, which was not nearly enough for him to be satisfied. When he arrived, he parked his car in the no parking zone and then ran inside, looking up at the large board where the flights were listed. There at the top was the flight to Aspen, it was on time, set to leave at midnight.

It was 11:45.

Rossi took off from where he was, sprinting towards the gate that the plane was at. He pushed through the people, disregarding the glares and under-the-breath comments he received. He was at the gate at 11:50, but it was already boarding. He searched through the people sitting, waiting for their group to be called, he wasn't there, but Rossi kept looking. He went into the bathroom, but Hotch wasn't there either so Rossi returned to the gate only to recognize a dark-haired man at the front of the line.

It was him.

He was about to get on the plane with only one person ahead of him.

Rossi ran over, catching up to Hotch just as he was scanning his ticket.

"Aaron!" He exclaimed, grabbing his arm.

Hotch turned around quickly only to find himself face to face with Rossi, "Dave?" He asked in shock.

The man in line behind Hotch let out a loud, obvious sigh to show his impatience.

Hotch stepped out of the line, "What are you doing here?"

Rossi was panting, "I got a letter…in the mail…it said…that the unsub had found me…and you. It said that you were living in Winslow, Arizona and that he was expecting to kill you and your family, but that if I was up for it…there was a way to save you. If I could find you before he did, then you would be saved. " He said, "And I did."

Hotch stared at him, baffled.

"What?" Rossi asked, observing the look on his face.

Hotch reached into his carry-on bag, pulling out his own letter. "I got a letter too…and it says the exact same thing, except that I have to find JJ to save her." He said grimly. "And I do have to save her, Dave."

Rossi gulped.

_Last call for passengers boarding Flight 154 service to Aspen._

Rossi nodded at Hotch, "Go." He said.

Hotch put a hand on Rossi's should, "Dave, thank you."

"Don't thank me, just get on the plane Aaron." Dave said quickly before approaching the desk next to the spot where a worker was scanning tickets to get on the flight to Aspen. "Excuse me." He said.

The woman behind the counter looked up, "What can I help you with sir?"

Dave stared at her, "What can I do to get on this plane to Aspen?"

The woman typed a few things into her computer, "It seems all the seats are full except for one in first class. The price will also be increased due to the late purchase. Is that alright with you sir?"

Dave pulled his credit card out, "Yes, yes. Here." He put it over the counter.

The woman took it, "Alright. Just so you know…your total comes out to be-"

"That's alright. I'm not concerned with that right now. I just really need to get on this plane." Rossi said urgently.

The woman understood and slid his card quickly before handing him a ticket over the counter, "Enjoy your flight."

Rossi nodded, "Thank you." And then he walked over to the man who had been scanning tickets, got his ticket scanned and then boarded the plane.

* * *

He watched his screens.

He had seven monitors, one for each team member.

The first showed Rossi rushing to board the non-stop flight to Aspen.

The second was blank. It was supposed to be Hotch's, but because there were no cameras on airplanes, he didn't have eyes on him, but he did have a camera ready at the Aspen airport to pick up on Rossi and Hotch once they arrived.

The third was Morgan's, which was also blank. He was on his way to Buffalo.

The fourth showed Reid checking into a hotel in Culver.

The fifth should have showed Garcia, but she was also on a plane that was flying to Aspen.

The sixth was of Emily walking through the airport, bags in hand, getting ready to board her flight to Columbus.

The seventh screen showed JJ, she was pacing inside Reid's apartment, running her fingers through her hair in a panic.

He smiled as he watched them.

None of the team members knew that all the locations they were flying to would be empty once they got there. It was a beautiful chain that he created, a never-ending chain. And he loved it.

But it was going to end soon, one of them would disappear, vanish, and because of that, the chain would be broken. One link would be missing.

And then, the existing team members would find each other. It would be a bittersweet reunion in which they would realize that the only reason that the rest of them had been reunited at all was because it was at the expense of one of their friends.

* * *

**"Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire."**

Mitch Albom


	4. The Start

**"When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon or you will be taught to fly."**

Patrick Overton

* * *

It took about five days for it to happen.

Hotch and Rossi got to JJ's house only to find it empty. They decided to stay there and wait for a few days to see if she was going to come back because there was no trace of where she had decided to go. It may have been invading her privacy, but when it came to safety, they didn't care.

About an hour after they arrived, Garcia called Rossi, asking where he was, explaining what had happened.

He gave her JJ's address and she met them there.

So that was three of them together.

Garcia used her computer system to look JJ up, which she found easy considering they were in her new house and had seen documents already that had her new name on it. All she had to do was put it in and within a few moments she found JJ's new identity. Easily, using the FBI's system, Garcia looked up JJ's credit card usage and found that she had paid for gas in McCook, Nebraska. Based on that, the three team members concluded that she was probably there looking for another team member because of a letter that she had received so Garcia ran each of the remaining team members' first names in the system of McCook, Nebraska. There were a lot of each name, but with the process of elimination she was able to narrow it down to two Spencers, three Emilys and one Derek. By easily looking at pictures, she recognized one of them.

"I got it! It's Reid, living in McCook, it's Reid." Garcia said and then after a couple more minutes she added, "But I just checked his transactions, he just paid for a plane ticket to Redmond, Oregon and then paid for a hotel room at a hotel in Culver…"

Using the same process as before, Garcia was able to narrow it down and then examine the pictures to find that Emily had been living in Culver.

"Emily was living in Culver and then bought a plane ticket to Baton Rouge so that means that's where Morgan must have been living." Garcia said slowly, "And then she bought a ticket to Columbus. She's probably following Morgan, who was following me. It's like a cycle."

Hotch nodded, "So if we wait, eventually all the team members should end up here." He said.

He was right.

On the second day that they were at JJ's house, Morgan arrived in Aspen. Because Garcia knew which flight he was on, Rossi picked him up at the airport.

On the third day, Emily bought a ticket to Aspen. That time, Hotch went and picked her up.

There were only two of them left.

One day went by and neither of them arrived.

But then on the fifth day, Reid finally flew to Aspen. Emily picked him up from the airport and brought him back to the house after that.

So then, they were waiting for JJ.

The sixth day went by, she didn't come.

The seventh, eighth and ninth day that they were staying in JJ's apartment, she still had yet to arrive.

And by that ninth day, they were starting to get worried.

"So JJ hasn't charged her credit card anywhere for two days. That means she's probably still at my house. Maybe she decided to wait for me there to see if I'd come back like we're doing for her." Reid suggested.

Hotch nodded slowly, "It's possible, but we only stopped here because we had no leads on where she was going next because she drove to Nebraska. You, however, flew to Oregon and then here. If she really wanted to find you, she could."

Rossi was pacing as they spoke, "Is it possible that something might have happened?"

Garcia stopped typing for a moment and turned around to face the team, "Like what?" She asked.

Rossi shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe her car broke down and she got stuck, maybe she got a ride from someone else, maybe…" He paused, looking at the ground for a moment, "Maybe…we were too late."

Reid looked at the pile of letters sitting in the middle of the table, "So he sends the letters, knowing exactly what's inside of each of them and he's smart. He knew we would all would have left immediately. He would have researched how long each of our trips would take. And he would watch, knowing exactly where we were at all times. It could have been a perfect cycle."

"But it wasn't." Hotch said.

Reid nodded quickly, "He set this up. He could have chosen any of us to break the cycle, but he knew. He knew that he wanted it to be her from the beginning."

Morgan looked up from where he was sitting at the table, "But why? He's hunting all of us."

"Yes. He is, but his behavior suggests that he and JJ may be connected in some way. It's possible that he might have known her." Reid said, his mind racing.

Hotch looked at Reid, "His behavior?"

Reid looked up, "In the letter he sent, he only addresses her by Ms. Jareau, while calls everyone else by their first name. He's depersonalizing her." He said, "And now this…he got to her first because he wanted to."

Rossi nodded slowly, "He did get to her first, but what does that mean? In the letter to Hotch he threatens to kill her, but if they knew each other, that would change the whole situation. He would want her to remember who he was."

"So he took her." Hotch suggested.

Morgan nodded from where he was, "That would give him privacy and effectively get the rest of us in a group together." He said.

Hotch turned around to look at Morgan, "Why would he want us together?" He asked, thinking out loud.

Reid was the first to speak, his voice emotionless, grim. "So that we'd be easier targets."

A still silence followed.

No one spoke, no one moved.

Until a small pinging noise came from Garcia's computer. She turned around slowly to look at it and after a few clicks, a white screen came up. "Guys." She said, voice shaking.

They gathered around her computer, looking at the email she had just received. It was from him.

_Hello BAU, so glad to be together again, isn't it? I'll admit, trying to track all of you down did prove to be a difficult task, but I managed. I always do._

_I was inspired by the way that you all dropped your lives to save a friend, but it was too bad you were too late. I'm going to assume that you already noticed a missing member of your team. And I know that you are going to perform your profiling magic and figure out that I took her. Well you're right. I did. And we've been having fun for the past few days while you've been sitting in her apartment, waiting. I wonder how that must feel. I'd imagine it's not good. _

_Don't worry though, she's alive. _

_And that's all I'm going to tell you, the rest is a surprise. You'll find it out from her soon enough. A lot sooner than you know. _

_Well, I just wanted to write this to keep in touch with you, keep you all up to speed. I'm sorry that it's short, there is more to the story, but I'd rather tell you myself. _

_Goodbye for now._

Garcia shook her head, "He really does have her." She said, complete disbelief painted on her face.

Emily nodded, "But this makes it sound like he's going to give her back. He said that we'd 'find it out from her soon'." She pointed out.

"Apparently 'sooner than we know.'" Morgan added sarcastically.

Hotch was still, his hands in his pockets. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

All of their heads turned towards the door.

Hotch looked back at his team and then headed for the door, he wasn't sure if it was a threat, but if it was, he wanted to make sure that none of them were in danger. Slowly, he opened the door, imagining that his fears would be irrational, that it would just turn out to be the mailman or something.

It wasn't.

When he opened the door, two men stood there, stone faced, staring at him. Neither of them looked friendly, but they didn't pose an immediate threat either. It just seemed like their demeanor was off, too serious. Something inside of Hotch told him to shut the door in their faces, that something bad was going to happen.

So he did.

He slammed the door shut quickly, but was unable to lock it before the men on the outside pushed their way in. Once they were inside, it was easier to see them. One was about 6 feet while the other was considerably shorter, both had dark hair and dark eyes, looking almost Italian, maybe even brothers. The first thing the smaller one of the two did once inside the apartment was pull out a gun and point it at Hotch.

"Woah, woah." Morgan said, walking over to where they were. He put his hands up in surrender as he reached Hotch's side, "What's going on here? Who are you?"

The smaller one smirked, resting his gaze on Morgan. "What do you think?" He asked, sarcasm obvious in his voice.

Hotch stepped forward, getting the attention of the smaller man. "We're federal agents. Taking us or harming any of us in any way is a federal offense. If you do what I think you're about to do, what do _you_ think is going to happen? You're going to get away with it? Seven missing agents isn't exactly subtle. They'll find you and then you'll go to jail for life. You don't have to do this."

The larger man grinned an evil grin, stepping closer to Morgan, who bravely stood his ground, giving the man a hard glare.

Hotch shook his head quickly, "Please don't hurt them. Take me." He said.

The smaller man spoke again, a smile stretched across his face. "You don't understand Agent. We aren't here to hurt you…" He said sinisterly, in a way that sounded like something bad was about to happen.

Hotch tilted his head questioningly.

Neither of the other men replied.

And then a noise came from behind where Morgan and Hotch were standing.

"Emily?" It was Reid.

Hotch turned around just in time to see Emily stumble from the spot where she had been clutching the table over to Reid, completely collapsing in his arms. He tried to catch her, but only ended up falling over as well. On the ground, he shook her. "Emily. Emily!"

She didn't move.

Morgan turned back towards the men first, getting into the larger man's face. "What did you do to her?" He asked, his voice thick with anger.

Reid started to pick Emily's limp body off the ground when he too started to struggle slightly. "I don't know what's…." He started to say, but couldn't finish because, with Emily in his arms, he was already falling to the ground again.

He fell backwards, luckily it was carpet, but the thump still sounded painful. Emily landed on top of him, and then, neither of them moved after that.

Morgan turned around again for a moment and then whipped back towards the men, "What's going on? What are you doing to them?!" He asked.

The smaller man smirked, lowering the gun he was holding. "We didn't touch them. We've been standing here the entire time." He said smugly.

Before Morgan could say anything, there was another interruption from behind him.

It was Garcia's voice, "Rossi!" She exclaimed as he sunk in his chair until he fell to the ground next to it. With wide eyes, she looked up at Morgan.

"Garcia…" Morgan started, seeing a glazed look in her eyes, "Garcia." He walked over and touched her, only to feel her shaking slightly. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

She shook her head, swallowing quickly, "I feel…." She trailed off, blinking rapidly. "What's happening to me?" She whispered to him, just as she started to fall out of the chair. Before she actually did though, Morgan was able to catch her and set her gently on the ground.

As Morgan started to walk back over to the men, about to kill one of them for messing with his baby girl, he started to feel weird. He felt extremely dizzy, like the whole world around him was spinning. No matter how much he tried to steady himself, it just got worse. A terrible headache throbbed painfully as he fought to stay conscious, but after a few moments, just like the others, he fell to the ground only to see Hotch, who had fought just as valiantly to stay awake, hit the ground at the same time as he did.

* * *

**"Somewhere in the world there is a defeat for everyone. Some are destroyed by defeat, and some made small and mean by victory. Greatness lives in one who triumphs equally over defeat and victory."**

John Steinbeck


	5. The First Test

**"The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."**

F. Scott Fitzgerald, _The Great Gatsby_

* * *

In that room it was cold, and dark, and dirty.

For some reason, in the middle of summer, this room was freezing. The air conditioning must have been extremely high to be able to maintain that low of a temperature. As for the lights, there were none. All day she sat in complete darkness, the only light she got was from hallway when a large man came everyday to bring her food. But even without lights, she knew that the room was dirty because she could feel the softness of the mud on the floor underneath her. Every time she was able to observe the room when the man opened the door, all she saw was dirt and what she assumed was mold growing on the light grey walls around her.

She never could have imagined how the victims that she had flipped through every day in lifeless case files must have felt until now. It was a complete emptiness, a feeling that no one was looking for her, loneliness was the best word to sum it up.

Why her?

She wondered that a lot. This man, he was hunting her entire team, so why did he pick her to take first? Being around profilers a lot, she knew it was probably planned. He was organized, he wouldn't randomly choose which team member to take first. And he chose her. Why? She wasn't sure.

All she remembered from that night was walking out of Reid's apartment and then, at the bottom of the stairs, someone behind her put a dirty bag over her head. She couldn't breathe and went into a panic, passing out in less than a minute.

She never saw him.

But she felt him. He had been standing right behind her, one hand on her wrist, the other holding the drawstring of the bag to keep it tight around her head. His hands were rough and sweaty like he had just finished working or something. And the whole time standing there, she could feel his breath on her neck. It came in short, nervous breaths, but they were hot and that heat that it created creeped down her back tauntingly, a chill following after it.

And for the next nine days in that room she never saw him.

There was the large man who came in twice everyday to give her food and water, but he never spoke. His demeanor was off too, she wasn't sure what it was, but it made her think that he wasn't quiet because he wanted to be, she thought that it was because he literally _couldn't_ talk. Maybe it was his eyes. She remembered those clearly: a deep vacant blue, full of innocence and curiosity. He inched towards her almost like he was afraid of her and she found that weird, but he was also large and muscular so she was sure that he wasn't easily manipulated.

The days went by slow, first it was nine and then it was fifteen.

After that, she lost count, having no idea what was day or night in her dark little room.

After what seemed like a week or so, JJ started having headaches. She thought it was due to the lack of Vitamin D, but she wasn't sure because she didn't even know what the symptoms of that were. A week after that, she started to feel extremely drowsy all the time, and got awful stomach cramps periodically throughout the day, or night, whichever it was. So she slept a lot because she found that when she did get extremely drowsy and she succumbed to sleep, she wouldn't even feel the pain from her stomach until she woke up.

So sleeping was the best option.

But when she was awake and was not plagued by the awful stomach cramps, she would think about things: her team, Will, the man that had captured her. They all kept her occupied for a little while, but then she would remember where she was and fall into the deep hole of loneliness and pain that she couldn't escape from.

Some other days she wouldn't be able to think about anything else other than this little room. She wanted to cry, thinking that no one would rescue her, that she would end up going crazy in this little room, that she was giving this unsub what he wanted. The only thing she could focus on was her impending demise and that scared her, not so much the demise itself, but the impending part. It would come, but she wouldn't know when or how.

Or why.

And so she got back to the why questions again.

_Why me?_

_Why doesn't he ever try to talk to me?_

_Why did he say he was "testing" the entire team if he only took me?_

_Why did he send me the letter when he could have just taken me from my house?_

_Why wasn't Reid at his house that night?_

_Why is this happening?_

_Why?_

She felt like she would never know.

One day the large man came in and like usual, he brought in her food. It was on a small tray: an apple, a bottle of water, a sandwich and some chips. Usually, he would set it down and leave, only to come back when she was finished and collect the trash. She assumed there were cameras somewhere where he could watch and see when she was done. But today, he lingered.

JJ watched his large figure in the doorway through her peripheral vision while she ate, unable to see his face because of the bright lights behind him. It looked like he was slouching slightly. Squinting because of the bright lights, she looked up at him as she spoke. "Hello." She said, her own voice sounding foreign to her ears.

He didn't move.

She looked back down at her food and continued to eat for a few more minutes before trying again, "Um, do you…I mean, can you tell me what day it is?" She asked.

A few more moments passed in silence and then, she saw the figure shake his head ever so slightly.

"Are you the man who took me?" She asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted the answer to be yes or no.

He shook his head.

JJ took a couple sips from her water bottle before speaking again, "Do you work for him?"

He hesitated before nodding slowly.

"What's your name?" She asked.

He didn't answer, only stepped forward and started to collect the trash from the food he saw that she had finished. As he bent down in front of her, she was finally able to really see his face again like she had before: his innocent eyes, thick eyebrows and stony expression.

As he was picking up her food, he met her eyes and then lifted his right hand to point to a white tag on his chest that she hadn't noticed before. She squinted to read it, "Patrick?"

He nodded.

She smiled at him, "I'm JJ."

The corner of his lip twitched upwards, almost forming a smile. He nodded like he already knew her name.

She picked up some of her trash and handed it to him, "Thank you."

He nodded and then left her alone again.

There was something about him, something childish that she couldn't place, but it was also something that made her drawn to him. Maybe it was her instinct to want to help him or maybe it was the fact that he had been so nice to her. If there was anyone she felt like she could make a connection with and get help from eventually, it was him.

With that thought, she started to feel tired again so she closed her eyes and drifted off into a sleep that was more peaceful than the nightmare she knew that she would wake up to.

* * *

Emily was the first of the team members to wake up. As she opened her eyes, she was met by a clean white room with bright white lights hanging from the ceiling. It looked almost futuristic in style with white cushioned bunk beds in the corners and a smooth marble table on the other side of the room. Slowly, she sat up and looked around. Surrounding her were her unconscious team mates, she noticed that they were all breathing though, which comforted her a little bit. She also noticed there were two doors, one directly ahead of her and the other to her right, but she didn't check either of them, deciding to wait for the rest of them to wake up before doing anything.

It must have been something in the air that they used. She wasn't sure if the rest of the team members had been knocked out like she had, considering she was the first one, but she assumed that they were. At least it wasn't violent, that would have been even worse. With the gas, they just drifted off into sleep.

All she saw while she had been knocked out was darkness, no dreams. She didn't even think that she could have had a dream and forgotten it, it was like the black darkness _was _her dream.

And it was a big contrast to the bright white room she woke up to.

At first she was just confused. Questions rattled through her mind continuously, none of them with answers. She blinked a few times, trying somehow to focus herself.

It didn't work.

So for a few minutes she just sat there, silent and confused.

The second thing to set in was the initial panic, not only about being trapped, but about her health. What had she breathed in? What had it done to her? Would it have side effects? When she realized that these questions had no answers as well, she just tried to calm herself down and think about something else. She remembered she was trapped in this room and a second wave of panic set in. There were no windows so she had no way of knowing remotely where they were.

Or why.

The last thing she remembered before passing out was Hotch trying to negotiate with the men and failing.

And then blackness.

She didn't know how many days had passed since then, but she had a feeling that it was more than one.

Slowly, carefully she got to her feet and hobbled over to where she saw Reid was lying. He was the closest to her, the others were spread out in other places around the room. She bent down over Reid's pale body and checked his pulse.

He was alive.

She shook him gently, "Reid."

He didn't move.

She shook him again, a little more frantically this time. "Spencer."

She saw his eyes moving rapidly underneath his eyelids as he started to wake up. Slowly, his eyes started to open and his face started to contort as the bright lights blinded him. He let out a small moan.

Emily smiled a little bit, glad that someone else was waking up. "Hey." She said, letting out a small sigh of relief.

Reid's eyes were open now. He looked up at her, "Where are we?" He started to sit up, rubbing his eyes gently.

"No clue." Emily replied honestly. "Go try to wake Morgan up, I got Hotch." She said, standing up and walking over to Hotch's limp body. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Reid rise unsteadily to his feet and walk over to Morgan.

She turned back to Hotch and started to shake him just like she did with Reid. "Aaron, wake up." She said sternly, hoping that he would wake up just as easily as Reid had.

He didn't.

As she was trying vainly to get Hotch to wake up, she saw that a few feet away, Rossi had woken up and was groggily starting to sit up. His eyes scanned the room until they locked with Emily's, "What happened?" He asked as he started to get to his feet.

Emily shook her head and then looked back down at Hotch, now worried that something was wrong. She touched his neck gently with her fingers and felt the steady rhythm of his heartbeat underneath her finger tips. So he was alive, just not waking up.

Rossi stood up and looked around the room. He noticed that Garcia was unattended to and went to her side, only to have her wake up a few moments later. They exchanged in a short conversation before Rossi started to help her up.

Emily stared down at Hotch. Why was it taking so long for him to wake up? She bit her lip, seeing that Reid was having the same problem with Morgan.

Suddenly, Garcia joined Emily at Hotch's side while Rossi joined Reid on the other side of the room. "What's wrong with him?" Garcia asked.

Emily looked over at her and shrugged. It seemed like every time someone asked her a question, she didn't have an answer.

Garcia nodded, "Well you were the first to pass out, then Reid, then Rossi, then me and then Hotch and Morgan. That's probably why it's taking them so long. The drug or whatever it was is still wearing off of them because they were the last to be affected by it." She said.

Emily looked up at her friend, "You're right." She said with a nod. "We should just wait. They'll wake up."

And a few minutes later, Hotch's eyes cracked open. He stared up at the ceiling, momentarily dumbstruck. When he started to remember what had happened, he shot up, looking around the room.

Emily turned around when she heard him sit up. "Hotch, you're awake."

And within a few more minutes, Morgan had woken up too. So, as a team, they gathered at the marble table in the corner. There were enough chairs for everyone to sit down with one to spare. That was no mistake. It was the exact amount of how many people were on the team. Seven.

When they had all sat down, they launched into a conversation. Where they were, why they had been taken, where JJ was, what was going to happen to them. Those were among the topics discussed.

"So we definitely think it was him?" Garcia asked, "The guy that was hunting us?"

Morgan shrugged, shaking his head. "Who else could it be?"

Hotch nodded quickly, "It has to be him, but…there's more to this than we thought. It seems that there are more people working on this, he has followers, it might even be a hierarchy. The two men that came to JJ's apartment that night, neither were the unsub. He's too careful, he wouldn't show us his face that early. He has plans." He said ominously.

Garcia shivered.

"Plans to do what?" Emily asked.

Reid, who remembered the letter he had sent word for word, spoke up. "He said he wanted to 'test us', to see if we really were as strong as we were made out to be." He said, "I'm guessing he's going to organize something that we will have to work together to do, something that we will have to overcome. It is likely that it will be challenging though, considering the intelligence of the man behind it. He'll make it difficult, but possible."

_Dr. Reid, I'm impressed. _A voice said.

The team looked around. There was no one in the room, but then Morgan spotted a small speaker on the ceiling and he pointed at it. The rest of the team looked up at it too, listening carefully.

_So finally, we're all here. I've been waiting so long for this, so long. And now that it's here, I couldn't be happier. _

"Where are we?" Hotch called up at the speaker.

_Always so forceful, Agent Hotchner. If you must know, you are in a large facility that used to be used as a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. It was abandoned years ago because of the poor living conditions and the patients were moved to a new facility, a nicer facility. Right now, you are in what they used to call the 'Multi-Purpose Room' and that was just what it should have been used for, but when the hospital was busy, it was used as an emergency room of sorts for patients who were a danger to themselves and to others. Does that answer your question?_

Hotch let out a frustrated sigh, "And where is this hospital?"

_Oh, you know I can't tell you that. _

"Fine." He shook his head, "If we're in the 'Multi-Purpose Room', where is JJ?"

_Jennifer is in one of the cells, one of the many that they would put prisoners- I mean, patients in when they were in need of solitary confinement. _

Reid ran his fingers through his hair, "Why isn't she in here with us?" He asked, expecting a witty, vague answer.

_I was hoping someone would ask that. Well, you see…I brought you here to determine if you are as intellectual as you are perceived as. I said I was going to test you. Well, this is your first test. Your task: Find Agent Jareau. The door behind Emily is locked, but the other door leads to a bathroom where there is a safe underneath the sink. Inside the safe, you will find a small bottle that contains a clear liquid inside and the key to the locked door, but only if you can figure out the four digit combination, which has something to do with all of you. You have four hours to finish. Should you fail, not only will you be proved wrong, I have been feeding your colleague, Jennifer, food that contains a poison called Arsenic. I'm sure you're familiar with it. I've organized the dosage so that after the next four hours, her condition will be irreversible, but if you find her before then and give her the medicine in the bottle, she will be fine._

"Why should we believe you?" Morgan asked, "You're probably just going to kill her either way."

_You don't have a choice, Agent. You have to trust me, but while we were on this subject let me just say this. I didn't bring you here to kill you. Every challenge you will face is completely possible to overcome. I brought you here so that you would prove me wrong. And if you are the team that you are supposed to be, you should be able to._

No one spoke.

_Alright, I assume you're ready. Begin._

The team didn't move, they knew they should categorize the information they were just given first and then try to figure everything else out based on that information.

"Alright so we should figure out the combination first, get the key and the medicine and then once we get out there, I'm assuming that this is hospital is big we should split up into three groups of two and try to find her." Emily proposed quickly.

Rossi shook his head, "But what about the medicine. There's only one bottle so that means if someone who doesn't have the medicine finds her…" He trailed off.

"So we stick together, go as quickly as we can and clear this place room by room, floor by floor." Hotch said firmly.

The rest of the team nodded.

Reid gulped, "So the combination. He said it was four digits. Maybe a year." He said quickly, "He also said that it relates to all of us. Could be the year the BAU was formed…"

Hotch shook his head, "No that's not personal enough. Rossi was the only person here that was there when the BAU was formed. It could be when this specific team was formed."

Reid nodded, "So 2007."

They rushed to the bathroom and Reid opened the cabinet underneath the sink. There in front of him, sat a large grey safe with four-digit combination lock, as promised. He put in 2-0-0-7 and then tried to open it, but it didn't work.

"It could have been the year that we were awarded the Director's Community Leadership Award." It had been an award given to the BAU for their exceptional work and it had been a big deal for all of them.

Reid nodded and typed in the year from memory. 2-0-0-9. He tried to pull it open again, but it didn't budge.

The team was stumped.

Reid bit his lip. "It's extremely personal to us. It would be a number that he would have picked to prove to us that he knows more about us than we thought." He said, looking at his team for suggestions.

No one spoke for a few minutes, thinking.

"What if it's the case?" Garcia suggested from where she was standing at the back of the group. "The first case that we worked together."

Emily nodded quickly, "She's right. It could be the case."

"Cases have numbers?" Morgan asked, tilting his head as he looked back at the two women behind him.

Reid nodded quickly. "Yes they do. A lot of the time they're four digit numbers. Let me see…the first case we took with Rossi on the team was the case in Dallas during Halloween with the missing signs. If I remember correctly that was case…1751." He turned to the safe and put the numbers in. 1-7-5-1. When he pulled, the safe came open.

Inside, there was small key sitting next to a bottle filled with a clear liquid, just like the unsub had said. Reid picked up the key and handed it to Hotch, who ran over to open the door, and then he picked up the bottle and put it safely into his coat pocket.

By the time everyone else exited the bathroom, Hotch had already gotten the door open. As they were leaving, they heard the unsub call one last thing over the speaker.

_Three hours and 23 minutes left, Agents!_

* * *

**"True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure - the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature."**

Robert McKee


	6. The Search

**"Time is a most versatile resource. It flies, marches on, works wonders, and will tell. It also runs out."**

Kathryn Alesandrini

* * *

They thought three and a half hours was plenty of time.

But as they reached the second floor, going through every room, they realized that if they kept going like this they would never find her in time. It had been forty minutes since they had left the room. So they had two hours and fifty minutes left. There were eight floors, they'd cleared two of them, but that meant they had four left and if they kept going at the rate they were going, clearing each floor in forty minutes, they wouldn't even get to the eighth floor at all. What if that was where he was holding JJ?

"I say we split up." Emily proposed again as they were going through the rooms on the second floor, "We'll go in three teams of two. We've already seen that the elevator shaft is empty so if anyone finds her, they should just yell into the shaft and everyone else should be able to hear it from whatever floor they're on."

Hotch turned around, "Emily's right. We have to split up. Reid and Emily, you take the eighth and seventh floor. Morgan and Garcia, you take the sixth and the fifth floors. And Rossi and I will finish the second and take the third and fourth. Stay together, stay safe." He said quickly before he and Rossi started going through the rest of the rooms on that floor.

Emily and Reid made their way up the flights of stairs until they made it to the seventh floor. As they were checking rooms, Reid prayed that he would find her. He had the bottle safely in his pocket and could easily give it to her if they found her, but they only had a one in three chance. He didn't like those odds.

They checked the rooms quickly, just looking for any signs of life before moving on. But there were dozens of rooms on each floor. It took them about 35 minutes to clear the seventh floor and that was only because it had less rooms than the others.

At the same time two stories below, Morgan and Garcia were getting close to wrapping up the fifth floor. After another fifteen minutes of searching, they moved up to the sixth floor.

"Morgan…" Garcia started as they were moving from room to room, "What if we don't…"

Morgan froze in his tracks and looked over at her, meeting her eyes with a reassuring gaze, "We will."

And they continued looking.

Hotch and Rossi had just gotten to the fourth floor after about 60 minutes, but that was because they'd had three floors to get through, unlike everyone else. They were having no luck. Every room they went through was empty. It seemed hopeless. The fourth floor seemed to be a lobby of sorts, full of waiting rooms and nurse's stations so they were finished with that one in about 35 minutes.

"So should we go up to fourth floor and help Garcia and Morgan?" Rossi asked Hotch when they finished clearing their floor.

Hotch nodded slowly and turned towards the stairs, but before they could start climbing them, he stopped.

"What?" Rossi asked, confused by the other man's behavior.

Hotch held up a hand, silencing Rossi. They both froze, listening carefully.

And then they heard it. They heard a voice coming from down the hall from the elevator shaft.

Hotch scrambled to turn around, slipping on the slick muddy floor. He dashed past Rossi and sprinted down towards the shaft, the older man following. The closer they got, the louder the voice became until they were standing right next to the empty shaft, able to finally make out what it was saying.

"We found her! Sixth floor! We found JJ, we're on the sixth floor. Please hurry. I don't know how much time we have left. Please come! We found JJ! We're on the sixth floor. She's unconscious, Reid bring the medicine! We found JJ!" It was Morgan.

He repeated the same message over and over again, his yelling getting louder and louder each time. He hoped that his team members would be able to hear him.

On the eighth floor, the voice was faint and it would have gone unheard if Reid and Emily hadn't been searching some of the rooms around the shaft. The moment they were able to make out what he was saying, they raced down the stairs, tripping over their feet as they stumbled down. Once they got to the sixth floor, they followed Morgan's voice until they found him yelling by the elevator shaft.

"Where is she?" Reid asked quickly.

Morgan looked up, looking surprised, but relieved to see them. "This way." He turned and started running. As he led them towards the room, he glanced down and checked his watch. "It's been 15 minutes. She only has 15 minutes left." He said grimly. Within a minute or so, they were at the room.

Reid had thought that it was dark in the hallway with the only light streaming in from some cracks and windows, but it was a whole different story for this room. It was almost completely dark in there except for the light coming from the doorway. From what Reid could tell, the room was old and dirty. He squinted to see as he stepped inside.

Garcia was bent of JJ's limp body, stroking her blonde hair gently. "They're here, Jayje. Reid is here, he's gonna give you medicine. Stay with me, gum drop, everything's going to be fine." Tears were streaming down her face uncontrollably.

Reid dropped to his knees next to Garcia and pulled the small bottle out of his pocket. He touched JJ's arm. It was freezing. "Prop her head up." He said.

Garcia did as she was told, propping JJ's head up. As she did so, JJ's eyes lulled open. She looked at Reid and tried to mumble something, but it came out as slur of words that was impossible to understand.

"Hey Jayje, so this is the medicine, okay? All you have to do is swallow it, alright? Here we go." Reid unscrewed the bottle and held it to her mouth, pouring it gently. He watched her neck to make sure that she was swallowing it.

She was.

After a few moments of that, the bottle was empty.

"Alright, she can lay down now." Reid told Garcia. "We just have to wait to make sure it kicks in. If it doesn't she'll lose consciousness, but if it does, she should be able to stay awake." He said.

Garcia gave a small nod of understanding.

Reid turned around to see that the doorway was empty. Morgan and Emily must have gone back to the elevator to wait for Rossi and Hotch. A few minutes later, the other four members of the team got to the room.

Hotch walked in, crouching next to Reid. "How is she?"

Reid looked over at the unit chief. "We got to her in time." He said with a small smile on his face. "I think she's gonna be okay."

Hotch nodded, "Well we should get back to the other room. I'll carry her." He said as he bent down and started to lift her up, but before he actually could, Reid stopped him.

"Wait, we can't carry her yet. We have to make sure she moves as little as possible so that she keeps the medicine down. Arsenic severely affects the digestive system and I'm just scared that if we move her too soon, she'll throw it up. " Reid said, looking around at the team.

Morgan nodded from the doorway, where he was standing. "How long should we wait?"

Reid shrugged, "Ten minutes at the least. And if we move her then, we have to be extremely gentle." He said.

Morgan nodded and looked down at his watch again, "Ten minutes will make it exactly four hours since the challenge began." He said.

So the team waited an agonizing ten minutes as JJ laid there, limp on the ground.

Garcia stroked her hair the entire time, mumbling words of comfort to her friend every now and then.

"It's been ten minutes." Morgan announced.

Hotch walked back over to JJ, looking at Reid. "We can move her now, right?" He asked.

Reid still looked hesitant, but gave him a small nod of approval anyway, "Be extremely careful. Move her as little as possible and make sure you support her head, don't let it fall backwards." He said, nervously.

Hotch nodded and carefully put his arms underneath the limp JJ. He looked at Garcia, "Can you hold her head up?" He asked her.

Garcia gave him a silent nod and stood up with Hotch, holding JJ's head up the entire way. Once he was on his feet, Garcia gently rested JJ's head against the unit chief's chest.

"But don't let her lean forward to much either. Make sure her chin is tilted upwards." Reid walked over and tilted her head back the slightest bit. He didn't know if that would make a difference, but he was just being safe.

Morgan, Rossi and Emily moved out of the way, letting Hotch exit the room.

Rossi lead the group, feeling around to make sure that Hotch didn't trip over anything while carrying JJ. Every time he would see something or feel a bad step, he would tell his team. "There's a wire up here." He said and a few minutes later, "We're at the stairs."

And when Emily, who was directly ahead of Hotch, reached the stairs, she told him again. "The stairs are right here. Be careful."

Hotch felt for the step and then carefully started to make his way down. The stairs was most of their journey. They walked all the way down to the first floor from the sixth floor. And when they reached the first floor, it only took a few minutes for them to reach the room that they had started in. When they got back to the bright white room, Hotch laid JJ down on one of the beds as gently as he could.

In the light of this room, the rest of the team could finally really see her.

Her face was covered in dirt and she had dark circles underneath her eyes, probably from the sickness. Her hair was especially dirty, caked in mud from the floor of the room she had been in. Altogether, she just looked extremely unclean. Her face, arms, legs, clothes, hair, everything. There wasn't a spot on her that hadn't been exposed to the dirt.

Reid went to the bathroom and held a washcloth underneath the warm water for a few moments until it was good and damp. He knew that she was probably still freezing. He sat down on the bed next to her and dabbed the washcloth on her face gently, causing some of the dirt to come off.

_Alright, well done BAU. You've completed the first test. I will give you two days for Jennifer to regain her strength. During that time you will be served four meals. I suggest you do not hesitate in eating them, you'll need your strength. Goodnight Agents, and good job._

Hotch let out a small sigh of relief. They did it. They saved her. And that was all the victory he needed for one day. He walked over to the bed where JJ was lying, "How is she?" He asked.

Reid looked up at the unit chief, "I think she's going to be alright. When she wakes up though, she definitely needs a shower."

Emily smirked from the corner where she was standing, "No kidding."

Reid smiled, glad that they could have a moment like this even in the kind of situation they were in, glad that they were all okay, glad that they were able to have a moment of calmness among the chaos. In that moment, he was just glad.

He looked back down at JJ and when he did, he swore that he could see the slightest sign of a smile playing on her lips.

* * *

** "Joy and sorrow are inseparable. Together they come and when one sits alone with you, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed."**

Kahlil Gibran

* * *

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Thanks so much for reading this story. I'm glad that you like it. I'm really excited for the next upcoming chapters and just the story in general. I have a lot of ideas so...just be ready for anything :) Don't forget to review! Thanks.


	7. Sudden Hope

**"You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstrous."**

John Steinbeck

* * *

Over the next two days, the team laid low. They just talked, proposed ideas about the man that was holding them, ate, bathed and slept. A normalcy settled for them in that room and they didn't like it. It made it seem like they were going to be there forever.

The one thing that kind of kept them all alert was tending to JJ.

They helped to nurse her back to health and by the end of the second day, she was almost completely normal again.

And on the third day, when the team woke up, the air was thick with their uneasiness. They knew that today, something would happen. Where, when and what, they had no idea. And that was the most agonizing part.

Reid, like everyone else, was waiting. He was pacing back and forth, trying to ready himself for whatever this man was going to throw at them. Across the room, he saw JJ sitting on a bed. She looked nervous, her face pale and her eyes cast down on the ground. He was concerned so he walked over and sat down beside her.

She didn't look up.

"How're you feeling?"

She turned her head towards him and offered a small smile. "Good. The best I've felt in the past few days." She paused, "How are you feeling?"

Reid smirked, shaking his head. "I'm alright, maybe a little bit nervous, but you probably knew that." He said, looking over at her.

"Hey," JJ started, "I'm nervous too, but we're gonna be okay. I'm sure that they know we're gone. Someone's looking for us. And eventually, they'll find us." She said with complete certainty.

Reid nodded though he was unsure if he really believed it, "We just have to stay alive until then."

"What's so hard about that?" JJ joked anxiously.

Reid chuckled lightly, but was interrupted before he could respond to her.

_Good afternoon! How's everyone doing? Good, great. Me too. So let's get started. I want everyone to slowly exit the room. The door is unlocked. Once you're out, turn left and go into the second door on your right. If that's too challenging for you. It's room number 203. I'll meet you there._

"Meet us there?" Hotch raised an eyebrow, wondering if they would finally come face to face with their captor, but there was no reply. He walked over to the door and pulled it open, "Let's go." He held it open for the other team members before exiting himself.

They traveled down the hall for a few moments until, at the front of the group, Emily saw the rusted metal numbers 203 on one of the doors. Carefully, she pushed it open and entered. This room was white as well, obviously remodeled because it wasn't old and dirty like the rest of the hospital. It had no windows and the door looked futuristic, sealing shut once everyone was inside. There were two visible platforms, one they were standing on and the other was at least a few yards away. Between the two platforms there was a drop off, about a foot deep, that was filled with what looked like water. Hanging above the water was a thick rope.

Also on the platform the team was standing on, there were numerous supplies: A ladder, a long steel pole, and one lonely pair of shoes.

_Objective: Get to the other platform. You may use anything you see. Except there is a policy for the shoes. Whoever puts them on has to keep them on, no sharing._

Hotch shook his head, "It's too easy." He said as he walked towards the water. There had to be an angle to this. He crouched down on the edge of the platform and stared into the liquid, but once he was close enough to it, he started to notice the smell.

"Hotch?" Emily asked.

He turned around and stood up, "It's hydrochloric acid."

_Very good, Agent Hotchner. Yes, it is acid. Best be aware of it, because just one touch on human skin and…I think you know the consequences. Also, remember if you spend too much time in this room the acidic molecules will attack your respiratory system. I suggest you get moving. Good luck._

Morgan walked over to the supplies. "We could either put the ladder or the pole across. Either way though, there would need to be someone on the other side to hold it." He said.

"And what about the shoes?" Reid asked, "Who should get those?"

At his comment, the rest of the team members looked down at their feet, realizing for the first time that they were barefoot. Those shoes would allow someone to get all the way across with no hassle.

Reid looked at JJ, but she shook her head. "Garcia should have them."

Garcia turned her head, looking up and joining the conversation for the first time. "No, Jayje…you're weak." She countered, walking over to her friend.

But JJ shook her head again. "But if I made it across and something happened to you, then…" She paused, "Just take them. I'll be fine."

Garcia gave her a long look and then nodded, touching her friend's arm and then walking over to where the shoes were. She started to put the short, thick boots on her feet. Luckily, they seemed to be a near-perfect fit, which was chilling. It was almost like the unsub ultimately knew which team member they were going to choose.

_Just remember, Penelope, no sharing._

She nodded and then turned around to look at the team, "I'll go across first."

No one said anything. It seemed like none of them wanted her to go first, but they didn't protest against it either.

"Be careful." Morgan said as he walked her over to the edge of the platform. He stood by her, watching, ready to pull her back up if the shoes didn't work.

Garcia nodded and gave him a weak smile before starting to lower her foot into the liquid. As it covered the shoe, she looked back at her team. "It's working. I don't feel anything." She said, lowering her other foot into the acid as well.

Reid walked over to the edge, "Good, but don't walk too slow. The fabric of the shoes might wear and don't walk too fast either, the last thing you want is a splash." He warned.

Garcia nodded without turning around. She took her first step, lifting her foot up and lowering it back down. She still felt no burning. She took her time, moving with caution, but efficiency. In a minute or two, she was halfway across.

"How're you doing, baby girl?" Morgan called to her.

She didn't reply, just kept walking towards her destination.

JJ stepped towards the edge of the platform, "Penelope." She tried firmly.

Garcia stopped walking, "I…I feel it now." She said, her voice cracking slightly in what could either be fear or pain. "It burns." She added between her teeth, continuing to walk forward.

Morgan shook his head, standing dangerously close to the edge. It looked like he wanted to go in after her, but JJ, who was standing the closest to him, touched his arm. "Don't." She said quietly.

Morgan glanced at her, shrugging away from her touch. "You're almost there." He encouraged, watching as she walked through the liquid.

Garcia's steps became slower, more strained. Every time she lifted her foot up, it looked like she struggled to put it back down into the liquid again. Her wincing got louder and louder as she went along until it was loud enough for the team, yards away, to hear.

"Keep going." Morgan said comfortingly, hoping that would motivate her to just get to the other side. "Two more steps, baby girl." He encouraged.

Garcia looked at the distance ahead of her. The platform didn't look like it was two steps away. It looked more like three, if she continued taking the small, calculated steps that she had been taking. But in that moment, she decided that, just because Morgan had said it, she would reach the platform in those two steps.

She took a long stride, wincing in pain and then continued, taking another long stride, able to now reach the platform and crawl onto safety, pulling her feet out of the acid. Once fully on the platform, she turned over so that she was sitting and started to pull off the shoes.

She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming.

The team watched from the other platform, in silence.

When the shoes were finally off, Garcia was surprised to find that they weren't burnt. They looked red and the skin definitely looked irritation, but from the pain she was feeling, she had been expecting burnt flesh.

"Are you alright?" Reid asked.

She looked up with tears in her eyes and nodded.

That was when the team went back into action. Now that Garcia was safe and okay, they could continue to figure this out.

Rossi and Hotch started to move the ladder over to the pool, but Reid stopped them.

"Wait, that's not going to fit. It's too short to stretch all the way across." Reid shook his head, "It's just a decoy. We're going to have to use the pole to get across. That's what he wanted all along."

Hotch sighed, putting the ladder back up against the wall and then lifting up the pole. "I guess we're using this then."

The pole was sleek black and was about two and a half inches wide. It was just wide enough for a person to fit the center of their foot on, but not wide enough for the outer edges of their feet to fit. It was also a cylinder pole, meaning that there was a possibility that it could roll and that the curved surface would be hard for the agents to walk across.

Emily walked over and helped Hotch lower the pole across the liquid. He watched as Garcia crawled, once again on her hands and knees, over to the cylindrical pole, holding it down so that it wouldn't roll back and forth.

"Are you okay?" Morgan asked

Garcia nodded again slowly.

Morgan looked at her, "Someone will be over soon. Don't worry." He said, soothingly.

Hotch looked around at all the agents, "Who wants to go first?"

No one volunteered until Emily spoke, "We should go by weight. Morgan first because he's the heaviest and then Hotch, Rossi, Reid, me and JJ last because every time someone goes across the pole, it will be weakened and if people lighter go across the weakened pole, it is less likely to give out."

Morgan nodded quickly, "Smart." He said as he walked over to the pole. He stepped on the cool, thin surface, his foot molding to the curved shape.

"So take two steps and then reach for the rope. You should be able to reach it. Once you do, you can use that to keep your balance and if you fall, just jump onto the rope." Rossi instructed.

Morgan nodded, sweat gathering on his upper lip as he started to walk across. He took his first step, going out above the liquid, swaying slightly. He reached backwards, grabbing Emily for support because she was still close enough. As he took his second step, he had to let go of her. Now, it was his object to get to the rope. He reached out for it, just a few centimeters away. Finally, stretching out his arm, he reached the rope and grabbed it with both hands, using it to steady himself. Walking with that lifeline made it much easier. He was still going slowly, but with the rope, it felt much safer. About five minutes after he began, he was almost to the other side, just feet away from Garcia, but the rope was tight now. He couldn't use it anymore so he let go and it swung back behind him to the middle of the pool again. From that spot on the pole, he just jumped to safety on the other platform, figuring it was easier than trying to balance and walk the rest of the way.

Once he made it, he immediately tended to Garcia. There were no wounds or sores on her feet, just irritation. "Hey," He said softly, "it doesn't look too bad. You just need to keep off of your feet and we'll wash it when we get back. If we do, you'll be okay." He gave her a smile. "I'll take this." He reached down and grabbed the pole, holding it steady.

Garcia moved out of the way, crawling over to the wall so that she could sit against it. "Thanks, Morgan."

With Morgan holding one side and Rossi holding the other, Hotch was able to safely make his way across the pole, using the rope as a guide. When he reached the other side, he started to tend to Garcia. There wasn't much he could do though, other than offer her some comfort.

Rossi went next, struggling slightly to keep his balance as he made his way across. Luckily, he managed without falling, but it took him more time than the others.

Reid was the last man to walk across and he did so tediously, calculating every step before he made it. When he got the rope, he pulled on it, using it to keep his balance. He made it to the other side easily after that, just jumping from the end of the pole to the platform like Morgan had.

Emily paused before she started walking, "What about JJ? Who's going to hold it when she goes across?" She asked.

The men on the other side thought for a moment, trying to figure out a solution, but there wasn't one. "We'll just have to make sure it doesn't roll from this side." Morgan said.

JJ nodded.

Emily didn't look sure, but she decided to go with it anyway. It didn't seem like there was another choice. She started walking across, her eyes focused down on the pole in concentration. Without taking her eyes off of it, she reached for the rope, grabbing it with her right hand. Once she had a good grip, she started moving faster and once she got close enough, she jumped to the platform, misjudging it slightly and almost landing on Morgan.

JJ was the last to go. She looked across the long pole with determination and then met Morgan's eyes to see if he was ready. When he nodded, she stepped onto the pole. It rolled slightly to the side, but her other foot was still back on the platform so she didn't fall.

"Hey, be careful." Reid said from behind Morgan when he saw it roll. He was watching her nervously, scared that this wasn't going to end well.

JJ looked across the pool at Reid for a moment and then back down at the pole, taking another step. Now she was standing completely on the pole, but because of Morgan, it didn't roll to the side this time. She walked above the acid slowly until she reached the rope. That brought some comfort, helping her to keep her balance, but as she was walking across, rope in hand, the pole shifted again. She managed to stay standing, but only because of the rope she was clutching.

Morgan looked up, "Sorry." He muttered, getting a better grip on the pole.

JJ barely heard him, she had started moving again, walking a little bit faster. She felt the pole wiggling slightly underneath her feet, not enough to make her lose her balance, but enough to make her nervous. And then, just as she was about to let go of the rope, the pole slipped again, this time it was a lot. She wasn't able to regain her balance this time so she just clutched the rope and pushed off from the pole. She clung to the rope, pulling her feet up as she swung back and forth to keep them from dipping into the acid.

The pole was halfway submerged in the acid now. When she had pushed off of it, it had launched sideways and the end that no one was holding had slipped into the water. She looked at the team on the platform as she hung from the rope that was swinging slightly over the center of the pool.

"Are you okay?" Reid asked.

JJ nodded, "What now?"

Rossi stepped forward, "Try swinging."

JJ nodded again, using her weight to swing the rope back and forth. It took a few minutes before she was starting to get close to the platform, "Should I jump?"

She saw Reid's face, he looked like he wanted to say no.

But it was Hotch who replied, "Yes. You can make it. You're close enough."

JJ eyeballed the distance as she swung, it didn't look close enough, but she trusted Hotch. She was going to try. She swung one more time, back and forth, and then this time when she started swinging towards the desired platform, she let go. For a moment, she didn't think she was going to make it. But, to her relief, she made it a few inches further, landing on the platform. While she did make it safely to the other side, she hadn't been close enough to be able to land on her feet. It was a hard surface and she landed almost directly on her left hip, her left elbow and left knee sort of helping to cushion her fall. When she hit it, she let out a small moan.

Emily was closest to her, she bent down. "Are you okay?"

JJ felt tears rush to her eyes almost immediately from the sudden pain, but just as quickly as the pain came, it faded. She knew it would probably leave a bruise, but after laying there for a minute or two, she felt better. That was when, after a long silence, she finally replied to Emily's question. "Yea," She started, sitting up, "Yea I'm fine."

_I'm proud, agents. You've completed your second task. The acid should be draining as I speak and when it is gone, you can return to your room. This time, you will have only one day before your next test and I am going to warn you: This one is may be more mental than physical. Prepare yourself._

And then the voice was gone, vanished as it did after every test.

Hotch walked to the edge of the platform, watching the acid drain into the various drains across the pool. Behind him, Rossi and Morgan were on either side of Garcia, helping her up off of the ground and Reid offered a hand to JJ, helping her up as well.

"It's all gone." Hotch reported to his team, venturing out into the now empty pool. As he stepped down, he was relieved to find that it didn't burn his foot at all. This guy really was a man of his word.

Rossi and Morgan helped Garcia across, who winced every time one of her feet touched the ground.

The rest of the team, Emily, Reid, and JJ, walked behind them.

"Do you think she's going to be okay?" JJ asked, referring to Garcia, who was limping a few feet in front of them.

Reid nodded slowly, thinking. "I think so. It just looks to be some severe irritation. It should be better soon, especially if she washes her feet out and stays off of them like Morgan said." He concluded.

JJ stared straight ahead, staying quiet for a moment before asking a follow up question. "How long do you think this is going to go on?"

Emily looked over at Reid for his answer.

He paused for a moment and then met each of their eyes, "As long as he wants."

Emily stared down at the ground, bringing up the one thing that they were all wondering. "But how much more can we take? Eventually, with these kinds of tests, everyone on the team will be injured. And then, after that, we won't be able to complete them anymore…" She looked up, "What happens then?"

JJ shook her head, "Nothing. Because that's not going to happen. We're going to make it out of this, all of us. And it's going to be soon." She said, lowering her voice slightly so that they could barely hear her anymore.

Reid and Emily leaned in towards her as they walked.

"What?" Emily asked.

JJ looked at each of them, "Don't react to what I'm about to say. Act completely normal because he's watching. Now, I'm not completely sure yet so don't tell the rest of the team, but I think there's a way we can get out of here." She paused, "And I have a plan."

Neither of them reacted, though on the inside, they bursted with the excitement of escape and with sudden, paralyzing, overwhelming hope.

* * *

**"No. Don't give up hope just yet. It's the last thing to go. When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope."**

Pittacus Lore


	8. Looking For A Story

**"Knowing comes from learning, finding from seeking."**

Vaddey Ratner

* * *

The new BAU team consisted of six members: four men and two women. They were all pre-existing FBI members from other teams that had been thrown together to create a new BAU. Their first case, as Strauss had promised, had been the old BAU's case, which was intimidating.

Imagine walking in the first day and learning that the team before yours had been forced to go into hiding because of a psychopathic killer that was hunting them. It wasn't exactly a warm welcome, but that new team was driven. They tried to find the unsub, but the only thing they were able to come up with was a preliminary profile on him, just based on the letter.

He was obviously a narcissist, very excited to show that he was just as smart as the BAU and had been wrongly rejected twice.

They also classified him as a psychopath because of his overconfidence, selfishness, and desire for revenge. His words were aggressive. They could tell that if provoked, he would turn to violence, a trademark tendency of psychopaths.

Like Reid, the new team had also figured out that this man probably had a past relationship with JJ because of the way he called her Ms. Jareau, instead of Jennifer or JJ. They briefly looked into her past, but found nothing connecting even remotely with this case.

After a couple of weeks with no new leads or suspects, the headquarters decided that BAU should take on new cases because of the countless cases open across the country that needed their help. So the old BAU's case took the sidelines for a while. When they had free time, they would look into it again, but mostly they took on other cases.

Three months went by.

The new team was gathered in the conference room, talking over a case that they would be taking in Boise, Idaho. They operated the same as the old team: briefing, jet, profile…and so on. But before they could get up and leave for the jet, Strauss came into the room.

She looked at the man standing by the screen, presenting the case. "Call Idaho, tell them there's been an emergency and that you can't come. Tell them we'll have someone put together a profile and send it over to help."

He nodded and rushed out.

The rest of the agents looked up at her confused.

Strauss walked over to the screen, turned it off, and then faced the team. "It's the old BAU case. A new development has come up." She gulped, "Agents Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau, Rossi, Garcia, Hotchner and Doctor Reid have all disappeared from their homes. Using their new identities, we found that all of them left at approximately the same day, going to various locations around the US."

"Various locations around the US?" One of the team members asked.

Strauss sighed, trying to figure out a way to explain it. "They were trying to find each other." She looked down at the file she was holding in her hands, "Agent Morgan went to Columbus, Agent Garcia went to Buffalo, Agent Rossi went to Arizona, Agent Hotchner went to Aspen, Agent Jareau went to Nebraska, Doctor Reid went to Oregon and Agent Prentiss went to Louisiana."

One member recognized the cities, "So they were all moving at the same time?"

Strauss nodded, "Yes and when they reached their locations, they would find an empty house, figure out where the person went and then follow. It was a cycle that went on for another day until apparently Agent Rossi caught up with Agent Hotchner. Together, they flew to Aspen and waited. Within a week or so, they all ended up in Aspen. All except Agent Jareau."

Another member spoke, "We thought that the unsub knew her."

Strauss nodded again, "Well...the next night, the police department got a noise complaint about Agent Jareau's apartment. Apparently, the people living below her heard yelling. When they got there, the apartment was empty, there was blood on the floor and on the table there were six letters."

"What did they say?" A woman asked.

Strauss looked down at the file again, "They were addressed to each member of the team from the unsub, except for Agent Jareau, whose letter was not found. Agent Morgan's said he had to find Agent Garcia before the unsub did to save her, Agent Hotchner's said that he had to do the same with Agent Jareau and so on with each team member. It is speculated that Agent Jareau's letter, wherever it is, said that she had to find Doctor Reid. This is what created the cycle. They all eventually ended up at Agent Jareau's house because she was taken and that created a gap in the cycle."

The team nodded along with what she was saying, listening.

"So now they're all gone?"

Strauss nodded and looked around at the table of agents, "And it's your job to find them."

One of the members looked up at her, "We didn't have any leads three months ago. We won't have any leads now. What makes you think that we can just get up and find them all of a sudden?" He asked incredulously.

"I don't expect you to be able to find them right now, but I expect you to try." Strauss said, "You will go to Aspen and look at the abduction site, get the most from that as you can. Then, come back here and solidify the profile. Witnesses Haley Hotchner, Tim Adams, Professor Lafferty, Jackson Bridges, Brooke Hyland, William LaMontagne and some others will be here waiting when you come back."

The unit chief looked around the table at the team members. "Well everyone get ready then, we're leaving in 20." He said before standing up and leaving the room for his office.

Will had never thought this would happen.

Relocation, witness protection, it always worked, right? They had relocated them for their safety, it was supposed to be classified, it was supposed to be impossible to find them.

And now they were gone.

When he had gotten the news that the team had disappeared, he was shocked. How could an entire team disappear? How could one man take down the whole BAU when they were states apart from each other? But most importantly, why? After they relocated, why didn't he just give up? There was no answer, it was insanity, considering the question, wondering where they were.

Will just wanted to help. They told him that they had it under control, but could use him as a witness because he had seen both Emily and Morgan while they had been undercover. He agreed.

So two days after the team had left for Aspen, Will arrived at the FBI buildings. This was the day that they were supposed to return and interview all of the witnesses. He walked in, prepared for whatever they would ask him.

He was early. He realized that when he walked in to find that the building was calm, almost empty. There were a few agents in offices and at desks, but no BAU yet. He did see another woman though, and he was relieved to see that she looked just as anxious as he felt. He assumed she was one of the witnesses.

Will walked over to her, "Hello there." He said kindly.

The brunette woman turned towards him, looking surprised that someone had actually talked to her. "Hello." She said, "Are you one of the agents?"

Will shook his head, "Oh no. I'm not. I'm a cop, but no…not an agent. They asked me to come here and answer some questions." He clarified.

The woman nodded, understanding. "Oh, me too. For the missing FBI agents?" She shook her head, "I still can't believe this was happening. I mean, I was friends with her for three months and I never knew who she really was. It's scary, isn't it? You never really know, I guess." She rambled.

Will nodded slowly, "I'm Will…by the way." He held out his hand to her.

She shook it, offering a small smile. "I'm Brooke." She said, "And I'm really glad someone else is here. I was just starting to think that I went to the wrong place. Can I ask who you're here for? I mean, which agent?"

Will looked at her and shrugged, "I saw Agent Prentiss and Morgan before they went missin'. I also knew all of them before any of this happened. They came to New Orleans and helped with a case we had."

"I thought I heard an accent." She smirked.

Will nodded, "Yes ma'am." He paused, "Who are you here for?"

Brooke looked at him, "Agent…that still sounds so weird, calling her that…Agent Jareau." She said quietly, "JJ."

Will's eyes widened, "You're here for JJ?" He asked quickly, heart pounding in his chest.

Brooke stared back at him, confused by his reaction. "Um, yea. Why?"

Will blinked, shaking his head. He had to explain, "I was…I mean, after the case that they helped us with JJ and I started datin'. She asked me to move with her when this relocation thing came up, but I said no. And I don't know why I did. I tried to find her after that, but it was impossible." He told her quickly, "Where was she?"

"Uh, Aspen, Colorado." Brooke told him, "She was working for the Aspen Journal and so was I. Within a week or two, we became friends. After three months, we were really close or I thought we were. And turns out she was an undercover FBI agent." She smirked.

"Surprisin', huh?"

Brooke nodded and gave a sarcastic shrug, "A little."

They kept talking like that for a while, about JJ, about the team, about the case. It took about another 10 minutes for other witnesses to start arriving and about 30 minutes later, when everyone had arrived, the BAU finally got back.

They immediately started interviewing people, asking them what they knew, if they had noticed anything, and if they had any idea who could have done this.

Most of the witnesses were finished less than two hours later.

Will was one of the first to be released. He started walking out, an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. During his interview, he got the feeling that the BAU hadn't gotten anywhere. As he left, he had asked one of the members if they had any leads. He hesitantly answered no. After all this time they didn't have any leads. In Will's opinion, they needed more hands, but they refused his help. So maybe he would just do his own searching. Nothing extraordinary, just talking to people, that was all it would be. Maybe he could find something that would help.

When he reached his car, he heard a voice come from behind him.

"Will, wait!"

He turned around to see Brooke jogging towards him, her boots clicking against the hard gravel. She stopped when she was in front of him, "Hey so I'm only going to be in town for today and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get some coffee?"

Will stared at her for a moment, considering it, but then he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I really don't have time." He said.

Brooke looked disappointed, "Oh okay. Where are you going?"

Will stopped. He didn't know if he should tell her or not, but in the end, he wanted to know what she thought. "I…they don't have any leads. And…I thought maybe if I looked into it, I might be able to find somethin' that they missed."

"You're going looking for them?"

Will nodded slowly.

Brooke paused, looking like she was deep in thought. And then she replied, "I'm coming with you."

Will was surprised by that, "Uh, what?" He shook his head, "No…I was just goin' to…and I thought you said you had to get back to work."

Brooke shook her head, "I was going to quit anyway."

Will still shook his head again, "Why do you even want to? We might not even find anything."

Brooke looked down at the ground, "JJ…she was always trying to tell me that I could be a novelist if I wanted to, I just had to find somewhere to start. And the other day, I sat down…with a blank sheet of paper and the only thing that I could think about was JJ and this case and where they were. And I just wrote. I wrote and wrote, filled up 5 pages."

Will gave her a confused look, like he had no idea where this was going.

"I read somewhere that the best writers don't sit back and wait for a story to come to them, they go looking for it." Brooke said, "This is a story that needs to be told, their story…and I want to write it. And…and I want to find JJ."

Will stared at her for a long time and then cracked a smile, "Alright." He said, "But I better get a free copy of your book."

Brooke chuckled and climbed into the passenger's seat of Will's car.

And then Will pulled out of the spot and they started their journey, unaware of how much they would actually come to find.

* * *

**"You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they really are."**

Joss Whedon


	9. Patrick

**"Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape. "**

William S. Burroughs

* * *

When the agents returned to the bright white room that had become their temporary home, they laid Garcia down on one of the beds. Her feet looked worse now. There were blisters on her heels that they had failed to notice before and it looked like they were getting more and more irritated as time went on.

They first tried to wash her feet with water and it seemed to help, she stopped fidgeting from the pain, but as they were finishing, they also noticed that she had become pale.

JJ walked over and crouched down next to Morgan by the bed. She reached up and felt Garcia's head with a gentle, maternal touch. "She has a fever." She paused as Garcia met her eyes, "Hey how are you feeling?"

Garcia gave a small shrug, "It itches…" She muttered.

Reid nodded, "Fever and itching, both common symptoms of a chemical burn. She needs medicine, anti-itching cream and probably antibiotics to prevent an infection." He reported.

JJ brushed Garcia's hair out of her face. "We'll get it for her." She said firmly, determination in her eyes.

And then she stood up and walked over to where Hotch, Emily and Rossi were talking by the table.

Hotch looked up as he saw her approaching, "How is she?"

JJ gave a small shrug, "Responsive, talking. It doesn't look too bad, but she's in a lot of pain. Reid says she needs medicine. We need to get into contact with the unsub." She said.

"How?" Rossi asked.

Emily shrugged, "He's probably already listening." She backed away from her team members and looked up at the intercom speaker on the ceiling. "Hey!" She yelled, "Hey! We need to talk to you!"

There was slight clicking noise before they heard his voice.

_Yes? _

He sounded oddly excited to be hearing from them.

JJ walked over to Emily, "Garcia needs medicine." She said, hoping that if she used Garcia's name, he would feel more sympathy for her.

"She needs an NSAID, an anti-itching cream and some antibiotics." Reid said, joining the conversation.

A chuckle came from the intercom.

_I know what she needs, Dr. Reid. And I have it. I think the true question is: why should I give it to you? _

JJ spoke again, having already prepared for this question. "You said you brought us here to test us, to see if we were as strong as we were made out to be. Well, if she's injured, that means you've set us up to fail. If you really want legitimate results, you need all seven of us to be healthy."

_I don't need anything, Ms. Jareau. _

"Then why are we here?" Emily asked suddenly, "If you brought us here to kill us, you would have done it already so stop playing games and give us the medicine."

There was a short pause.

_I like the fire, agents. I will send the medicine in, but just know that I will not always be able to save you. I suggest you stop taking unnecessary risks because I have made it so that in every challenge you should all be able to get through unscathed, but you've been doing it the hard way. There's always a safer way, Agents, remember that. _

_Someone will be in shortly._

JJ looked at Emily, using her eyes to convey a message: We need to talk.

Emily gave a small nod and then the two women walked over to the table, sitting down quickly and nonchalantly.

JJ put her elbows on the table and her hand positioned in front of her mouth so it was impossible to tell that she was actually talking. She scooted a couple inches closer to Emily and stared at the wall so it wouldn't look like they were having a conversation. "There is a man." She breathed.

Emily looked at her friend, confused.

JJ glanced at Emily before continuing, her voice too low for anyone else to here. "The days that I was here, in that room, he brought me my food and water." She whispered, "He was large, but childish. I suspected some type of mental illness, maybe autism. It's kind of a blur, but I remember asking him his name and thinking that he would be able to help me, that he didn't know any better. If we can convince him to help us, we can get out, I know it."

Emily nodded, "And you think he's going to be the one that delivers the medicine?"

"I know it's going to be him. You just have to buy me some time. He'll try to leave once he gives us the medicine; you need to say that you need to test it or something. I just have to talk to him for a couple of minutes to build report." JJ whispered.

Emily nodded again, "Got it."

And then they just sat quietly at the table, listening to the conversations that their colleagues were having about Garcia, about the unsub, about who was looking for them or if anyone even was.

JJ's mind wandered. She knew that the new BAU team would call witnesses, she imagined Tom and Brooke going in for question, maybe even Will.

Will.

It had been three months since she saw him, but the sting of their separation was still fresh. She wondered if he had moved on, forgotten her. She wondered if he had been called when she disappeared. She wondered if he was worried about her. She wished she could see him again, the last thing that she had said to him was something along the lines of: "Well I have to keep packing, I guess I'll…see you when I get back."

And he had replied, "I hope."

She never even really said goodbye or I love you. And she was forced to wonder if she would ever get the chance.

Suddenly, the door behind everyone started to move. The handle twisted and the door came open to reveal a tall, dark-haired man standing in the doorway. Slung over his shoulder, he had a duffle bag, which probably contained medical supplies.

JJ recognized him, it was Patrick, the man that had brought her the food and water before.

He stepped inside the room, kicking the door shut behind him, and walking over to the bed where Garcia was laying. He dropped the bag next to Morgan and turned, starting to leave.

"Wait!" Emily called, according to plan, "She might be allergic to the medicine. You have to wait while we test it on her really quick to make sure."

Reid looked up, confused. He opened his mouth to correct her, but was interrupted when Emily spoke again. "Reid, trust me."

Emily walked over to the duffle bag and started unloading the contents. She glanced at Morgan, "Just get a little bit and put it on her skin. Make sure there isn't a reaction."

Morgan gave her a weird look.

Emily shot him a look, "Trust me right now, Morgan." She said as she used a single drop of the medicine to 'test' it on Garcia's skin. She wasn't even sure if this was a real medical thing, she was just buying JJ some time.

Patrick stopped when he heard Emily and stood by the table, waiting. JJ was sitting near him.

She looked up, "Would you like to sit?" She gestured towards the chair that was across the table from her.

He looked like he was considering it, but hesitated.

"You can sit, they're testing her right now. It might take a couple of minutes." JJ said, her tone of voice gentle, inviting.

Patrick stepped over to the chair and lowered himself into it, not taking his eyes off of JJ. He didn't speak, but there was a certain curiosity in his eyes that made JJ suspicious. He was acting like he already knew her and he did know her from a week or two before when she had been taken, but the look in his eyes made it seem like he knew her from somewhere else, childhood maybe.

JJ thought back to her hometown, but couldn't remember. "Do I know you?' She asked quietly, leaning towards him.

Patrick just stared back at her with the same blank stare.

JJ thought harder, "Patrick…" She muttered and then she remembered, "Patrick Hart?" He almost cracked a smile. "You…you went to school with my sister, she said that you were one of the nicest kids that she'd ever met. And you used to came over for dinner once." She smirked, "You didn't talk much back then either."

Patrick chuckled softly, almost making no noise at all.

JJ looked up at him. "But after she died, you didn't come around much anymore." He nodded. "And…and what are you doing here?" JJ asked, tilting her head. "Why are you doing this, Patrick? Who put you up to it?"

His expression changed as her tone got more serious. He started to panic, letting out soft whimpering noises. He got out of the chair, glanced back at Emily and Morgan "testing" the medicine and disregarded it, running out the door and slamming it behind him.

The team looked at JJ as the loud slamming of the door left them in an awkward silence.

She pointed at the door, "I know him. He went to the same high school as my sister did. They were in the same grade. His name is Patrick Hart and he has autism. I remember him being the sweetest guy ever, he always walked my sister home from school because he lived a few houses down and once he stayed for dinner. He wouldn't do this. He's a smart, rational guy. Someone is manipulating him."

Hotch paused for a moment before replying, "That's our in." He stepped closer to her, "Do you think you can earn his trust?"

"Soon, yes."

Hotch nodded, "We have to turn them against each other, get Patrick to believe that the man manipulating him is doing the wrong thing. You said he's rational, play up to that. Get him to remember his conscience."

JJ looked up at Hotch and nodded, surprised at how his profiling skills hadn't changed at all. She would do what he said and maybe, they would be able to escape. Maybe. But the whole next week that they were in that room, they got no visitors. The food was always waiting for them when they woke up, three meals set out on the table. It was always types of food that didn't go bad so that they could eat whenever they wanted without having to worry that their food would rot.

JJ waited and waited, but Patrick never returned. She wondered if the unsub had seen him talking to her and punished him for it. Technically, it was her fault, she had been the only one doing the talking, but there was no doubt that the unsub would display his superiority whenever needed.

Just when the team was beginning to think that the maybe the unsub had deserted them, or that maybe this was a hidden test that they were supposed to figure out, they finally heard the chilling voice over the intercom again.

_Agent Garcia, how are you? _

She looked up at the intercom, "Better."

_Good, good. I see that you can walk again. So guess what? It's time for another test. I have simple instructions for each of you so listen carefully for your name and agents, do not mess this up. Remember what I tell you because it will be critical for your success._

The team waited silently for the next instructions.

_Agent Hotchner, team leader. You will report to room 206. It is a few doors down from the room you are currently in. A word of advice: let intelligence slow this endless nightmare. Cryptic, I know. I'm a poet at heart._

_Agent Garcia, room 205. Close your eyes._

She did.

_I'd get used to that if I were you. _

She re-opened her eyes and shot a panicked look at Morgan, who touched her arm gently to help calm her down.

_Agent Reid, you will be in room 208. How long can you hold your breath? I suggest you try to remember. _

_Agent Rossi, room 209. Make sure you leave that jacket on, you'll need it. _

_Agent Morgan, you'll be in room 204. Now I've heard that you're one of the toughest members of the BAU, the strongest? I wonder if that's true. _

_Agent Prentiss, the feisty one. I like the fire in you, agent and I think you like it about yourself too, but after today, I'm not so sure that you'll feel the same. You get room 210. _

_And lastly, Agent Jareau. The den mother, the quote "one the families can go to"…you think families are center of society, don't you? The heart of society even? Good, good. I wish I believed the same. You will be in room 207. _

_Now, everyone go to their rooms and wait there for instructions. _

The door swung open suddenly, creating a cool draft that came in from the hallway.

JJ was the closest to the door, she glanced back at her team for a moment. "See you guys after." She said, giving them a sincere look, "Good luck." And then she walked out to head to her room.

Hotch followed after her, looking over his shoulder briefly as he passed through the doorway.

The rest of the team filed out one by one behind them, all heading to their designated rooms.

None of them went inside.

They all stood outside their doors, able to see who was in the rooms on either side of them.

Hotch looked at JJ on his left and Garcia on the right and gave them both a nod before pushing his door open, lighting up the hallway for a moment before he went inside and the door shut behind him.

Garcia looked at JJ.

"We're gonna be fine." JJ said, certainty in her voice, but not in her eyes.

She and Garcia entered their rooms at the same time.

Morgan watched Garcia go, worried, but determined. He proceeded to enter his own room, ready.

Reid glanced at his fellow team members before going in, Emily doing the same a few minutes later.

Rossi was the last to go into his room. He waited and waited, thinking that the inside of this room would be where he died. And he had absolutely no idea what was on the other side. In a few moments, he would come to find out.

Slowly, he pushed the door open and entered.

* * *

**"There are things known and there are things unknown and in between are the doors."**

Jim Morrison


	10. The Third Test

**"She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum."**

Jonathan Safron Foer

* * *

Hotch walked into his room, unsure of what to expect. To his surprise, as he looked around, he realized that it was empty. There was one light hanging from the ceiling illuminating the dark grey walls that surrounded him. The room, as a whole, was dirty and moldy as if it had been years since a person had been inside. He looked around for any threats, but didn't see any. A short sense of relief flowed through him until he remembered who this man was, there had to be something more to this room than Hotch could see.

A few minutes passed and Hotch started to wonder where the unsub was. Maybe the challenge had already started. Was there something that he should already know he was supposed to do? _Let intelligence slow this endless nightmare. _Poetic, but to Hotch, it didn't mean anything. Maybe his challenge would involve thinking critically, maybe riddles or something.

He continued waiting.

It seemed like it had been a long time since he'd entered the room. Just out of curiosity he walked to the door and pushed. It didn't budge. It must have locked automatically when he walked inside. He paced in his room, back and forth, the only noise he could hear being the brushing of his pant legs against each other.

After what he was estimated was about 20 minutes, he finally heard the familiar clicking noise of the intercom on the ceiling turning on.

_Agent Hotchner, hello there. Sorry it took so long. You were the last room I came to and your team mates...Well, let's just say they weren't exactly rushing into their tests so sorry for the delay. _

_I bet you're wondering why I saved you for last. You probably think it's just random or that maybe I have some hidden agenda well let me tell you it's much simpler than that. _

_I have chosen you last because your challenge will involve the well-being of the rest of your team mates. As we speak, Agents Morgan, Rossi, Jareau, Prentiss, Garcia and Dr. Reid are all going through the most horrifying and/or physically strenuous challenges that I could come up with. _

_It is your responsibility to save them. _

_How? Find the key to the locked door. Use the advice that I gave you, if you can understand it, it will lead you straight to the key. Once you find it, go to each door and let the team mate out. They lock from the outside so you should be able to open them. _

_Oh and if you do find the key and open doors, I suggest you be careful when opening the doors where Agent Prentiss and Dr. Reid are being held because letting out what is inside each room could be devastating, unless combined. _

_Start searching. _

Hotch had no idea where to start. He was overwhelmed by the pressure on his shoulders. What would happen if he failed? Would his team mates die? Was the unsub bluffing? He doubted that. This unsub was one that usually held to his word. If he didn't find the key, his team mates would be harmed and it would be his fault. He couldn't live with that. So he started looking. The light hanging from the ceiling only illuminated the middle of the room while the corners were dark so that was the first place he looked.

At each corner, he dug through the mud and mold feeling for anything that wasn't soft. If there was a metal key in the pile of dirt, he was sure that he would feel it. While digging, he found several useless pieces of metal at each corner, but no key.

_Let intelligence slow this endless nightmare._ He thought, _Intelligence. My intelligence? Profiling. How would that help me? He'_s _a narcissist. It'__s in this room, but not in a place that I would think._

_Let intelligence slow this endless nightmare. _

_The unsub is smart. This has a hidden meaning, but what is it? The endless nightmare is what we'__re in, in this place with him, but what does that have to do with intelligence? And how can I use my intelligence to slow it? What does this even have to do with the key?_

His mind raced as he looked around the room, just running his hands against the walls frantically hoping that he would just come across it with pure luck, but that didn't work either.

Suddenly, before he could think of any more theories, he heard an awful sound.

It was screaming.

He listened carefully. It was coming from the room to his right, but he couldn't remember if that was JJ's room or Garcia's, but it was definitely a woman. It was a horrifying sound, almost unbearable. He had to find the key and soon.

Amidst the periodic screaming, he tried to think.

_He's organized, loves patterns, tricks, riddles. Maybe it's not supposed to mean anything...Let intelligence slow this endless nightmare. _

_Let, L. _

_Intelligence, I. _

_Slow, S. _

_This, T. _

_Endless, E. _

_Nightmare, N. _

_Listen. It spelled listen. _

Hotch froze in his tracks, listening closely for something, anything even though he wasn't sure what.

He heard the scream again

That wasn't it. He had to wait for the screaming to stop before he could find the key, but it went on for an agonizingly long time. He wondered what was happening.

Abruptly, it stopped.

He quickly tuned out the rest of the world, closed his eyes and listened. It was silent, serene even. Except for the slight buzzing noise coming from the light.

The light.

His head snapped up towards the bright light hanging from the ceiling. On the chain that the light was hanging from, he spotted some tape. He cursed at himself for not noticing it earlier. He reached up, straining to be able grab the light bulb. He flinched at the hot touch of the bare bulb that he grabbed, but pushed through the searing pain, pulling it down. To his surprise, the light bulb came down when he pulled so that he was able to reach the chain.

He ripped the key off and rushed to the door. Quickly, with one burnt hand, he opened the door and dashed to the right. He opened the room next to his, not able to remember if it was the one the screaming came from. Inside, it was pitch black. He couldn't see anything.

"Hello?" He called, not even able to see the hand in front of his face.

There was a shuffling noise, "Hotch?"

It was Garcia.

"Are you alright?" He asked quickly.

"Yes." She sounded closer.

Hotch reached out and felt her. He grabbed her shoulder gently and ushered her towards the door that he was holding open with his foot. Once they were both out, he let the door shut. In the hallway, where there were a few rays of light seeping in, he saw her. She looked fine.

"Morgan's a door down from me." She reported.

Hotch ran over and opened the door to the room that Morgan was in. As he pulled it open, he was blinded by the bright white walls of the room. It looked futuristic and remodeled like the room that they had been staying in. At first, he didn't see Morgan until he looked up at the ceiling. There, hanging from the handle on the ceiling was Morgan. He was sweating, holding on just by his fingers. It looked like he was losing his grip. And the drop from the ceiling down to the floor below would be enough for him to break his legs.

"Get the ladder!" Morgan urged, voice strained.

Hotch looked at Garcia, "Hold the door." He ordered and when she did, he ran over to the ladder lying on the ground and propped it back up underneath Morgan, who stepped down onto it gratefully. He massaged his muscles, panting.

Before Morgan started walking down the ladder, Hotch was leaving the room. "Don't shut the door until he's out, alright?" He said quickly before rushing down the hall. He opened the door on the other side of his: JJ's.

He remembered the screaming. He had forgotten to ask Garcia if it had been her.

He pulled the door open to find a dark room. On one wall there was a projector, projecting images on the opposite wall. It was showing just static. He assumed that whatever JJ had been watching had ended.

He looked around for her until he saw her sitting in the back corner, knees pulled to her chest, head down and hands over her ears. She hadn't even noticed that the door had opened.

As Morgan and Garcia came out of his room, one of them propped the door open while Hotch approached JJ.

"Hey..." He said, carefully, "It's Hotch. Are you hurt, JJ?"

Garcia and Morgan watched from the doorway.

Garcia looked at Morgan, "What do you think she was watching?"

"I don't want to know."

JJ didn't move.

Hotch touched her arm. She barely reacted. "You need to get out of this room. We have to help everyone else." He said, trying to convince her.

She was silent for another moment, "Is it over?" She asked without lifting her head.

Hotch glanced at the projecting image, it was just static. "Yes. It's over." He watched as she lifted her head, tear stains evident on her cheeks. He took her hand gently and led her out of the room, Garcia shutting the door behind them.

He left JJ with Garcia when he saw Morgan walking towards Emily's room. "Wait!" He called before Morgan opened it. He remembered what the unsub had told him about Emily and Reid's rooms.

_What is inside could be devastating, unless combined._

"We have to open them at the same time." Hotch said, grabbing the door handle to Reid's door. He saw that Morgan looked confused, but luckily didn't challenged his order. "Ready? One, two, three!"

They both yanked their doors open. An unbearable heat wavered out of Emily's room, but it was barely noticeable as a huge wave of water flowed into the hall from Reid's. It knocked Hotch off his feet, but he was still able to clutch the door handle to keep it open. As the water flowed out, he saw Reid getting washed out of the room with it.

He was flailing, but alive. As he washed past Morgan and Hotch into shallower, slower water, he was able to come up to the surface. He coughed violently and gasped for air. He was close to Garcia and JJ by then so they both helped him to his feet.

Once the water was done coming out of Reid's room, Morgan rushed into Emily's room. It looked barren and burnt. He assumed that there had been a fire of some sort before the water had flowed in and put it out.

Emily was on her hands and knees in the middle of the room.

At first, Morgan thought she was hurt, but she proved him wrong before he could even walk through the doorway.

"What the hell was that?" She asked incredulously as she stood up, clothes covered in ashes. "Here I was thinking I was about to be burnt to death and then the door opens and I have start to worrying about not drowning in this enormous tsunami?"

Morgan smirked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Emily said as she walked past Morgan and out the door. "One more minute though and I would have been toast, literally."

They both watched as Hotch opened the door to Rossi's room only to have the older man rush out almost immediately. He was shivering violently. "I...I heard y-you talking. S-so c-cold."

Hotch looked at the team, "Come on let's get back to our room. It'll be warm, dry and safe." He said, walking towards it.

The team followed, battered, broken, but alive.

* * *

**"There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive."**

Jack London


	11. Repercussions

**"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back."**

Paul Coehlo

* * *

"I had fire." Emily started, "It started a few moments after I walked in, no warning. The heat was unbearable, but the smoke was the worst part. I couldn't breathe. I found a small crack in the wall and I crouched down next to it to try to get as much air as I could. I remembered the unsub had said there was a way to get out of every challenge unharmed so I tried to figure it out. I realized that the fire was spreading, but there was one spot in the very center of the room that it didn't reach. It was a controlled fire and somehow, the center of the room would be the only place where I wouldn't get burned. I didn't know what to do because if I went to the center of the room, I wouldn't be able to breathe and if I waited by the crack in the wall I would have been burned. On instinct, I decided to go to the circle in the middle of the room. The fire hadn't spread much yet so I was able to get to it without being burned. Once there, I crouched down. What I was breathing in, I would barely call it oxygen. I felt lightheaded within a few minutes and I knew that I was slipping out of consciousness. That was when I heard the door open. When I turned around, I was hit by a huge wave of water. It felt so good, so refreshing. And when I came up, the air was so clean. I could finally breathe. And then I saw Morgan and that was it."

The team was gathered around the table, all of them, sitting in chairs and listening to the situations that their colleagues had been in. They had agreed to report what had happened. They all had to know what their unsub was capable of.

Reid shook his head, hair still wet from the water. "It's ironic. You were being scorched in your room while I was drowning from all the water I had just one room away." He sighed, "He told me in the beginning to take my clothes off. I refused. He told me to suit myself. And that was all he said. A couple seconds later, the water started flowing. There were four vents, one on each wall, and water poured in from each of them, filling the room in at least 15 minutes. My head was pushed up against the ceiling by 20 minutes. After 25 minutes, I was under the water, holding my breath. I counted the minutes. 2 went by and then my vision started to black out. I wanted to breathe so bad, but I knew if I did, I would die and it would be painful so I held off. I counted another 30 seconds before I saw the door a few below me come open. And suddenly, I was being pulled down. But luckily once I was out and I came up for air, I could breathe again." He shrugged, "Simple, but torturous I suppose. I wish I would have taken at least some of my clothes off though because now, all I have are these soaking wet clothes."

Garcia was next. She looked at her team members, "Mine was less…eventful. The unsub never spoke to me. I walked into the room and it was completely dark, I couldn't see anything, but I could hear. I heard the rats scampering across the floor, I could hear something dripping from the ceiling, I could hear the sound of churning water coming from Reid's room and eventually, I heard screaming."

"So did I." Hotch added in.

"That was all my room was, darkness. I had no idea what to expect or what was going to happen. The whole time I was waiting for him to talk to me, for him to threaten me, but he didn't. He let the anticipation get to me and it did. It wasn't so much physical, more mental. I was so scared, but apparently, it was nothing compared to any of yours." Garcia said, feeling guilty that her room was so much less threatening than the others.

Morgan shook his head, knowing what she was feeling. "You think that your room being harder would have helped us? No. You were lucky and you should not feel guilty for that." He rubbed her arm, "We're all fine, okay?"

The rest of the team nodded with him.

Garcia nodded.

Hotch was sitting next to Garcia so he spoke next, "I was the last one he contacted. He told me that the rest of you were in trouble and that I had to find the key to my door so I could get out and help you. I searched and searched, but then I remembered what he told me: Let intelligence slow this endless nightmare. It's an acronym that spells listen. So I did. And I heard a buzzing coming from the light. The key was attached to the chain. I ran out as fast as I could and tried to let all of you out in time. I'm sorry that I wasn't fast enough."

"You were, Hotch." Emily said, "You did the best you could and we appreciate that." She looked at the other team members.

They nodded.

Morgan sat up, "I'll go next." He paused, "When I walked into my room, all I saw was a ladder. The unsub contacted me first. He told me to climb the ladder and grab the handle that was hanging from the ceiling. I did what he told me. Once I grabbed the handle he told me to kick the ladder down. I, of course, refused, but he told me that if I didn't do it then one of you would die. I didn't want that to happen so I gripped the handle as best I could and kicked the ladder down. For the next 20 or 30 minutes, however long it was, I hung there. I couldn't feel my arms by the end of it, but if I let go I would have broken my legs for sure. This room had been engineered for this challenge specifically. It was especially tall. Luckily, just as I was slipping, Hotch and Garcia came to my rescue."

Everyone nodded.

There was a pause, only Rossi and JJ hadn't told yet.

Rossi spoke first, "The unsub never talked to me either. I walked in and waited. The temperature started dropping after a few minutes. It was bearable at first, but eventually I found myself shivering and my teeth chattering. I tried to keep myself warm by moving, but it didn't help. I could see my breath and when it got really cold towards the end, my arms and legs started to sting. I had to get out of there. I heard all of you talking outside and I noticed some water seep in from the crack underneath the door so I stood near it. Minutes later, Hotch let me out. And now, I'm finally warm." He gave the unit chief a small smile of gratitude.

Hotch looked skeptical.

"What?" Rossi asked.

He shook his head, "It's not your story. It's just that…Reid said the unsub briefly talked to him, Morgan said the unsub briefly talked to him, and Emily, Rossi and Garcia all said that he didn't even contact them, but it took him 20 minutes to get to me. Why? What was he doing?"

"He was talking to me."

They all turned to face JJ who had been sitting quietly by the wall. She looked up when they all turned, knowing that she should share her story now. "My room was lit when I walked in. There was a small light on the ceiling. I waited for a few minutes until I finally heard him. Most of the time he spent talking to me was explaining how to set up the projector. I had to put in the disc he wanted to show me and turn it on. He introduced the movie to me too, explained what it was going to be about. I barely listened. And then the lights turned off. And I watched. For the first few minutes I could take it and then…it was just too much." She had gotten quieter.

Reid was sitting the closest to her, "What was it about?"

"It was just a movie." JJ said firmly, shaking her head. "I shut my eyes, covered my ears and time went by a lot faster. But I still knew it was going on. I knew what was playing and even though I couldn't see it, I was thinking about it. And somehow, that was worse. I'm not sure when it ended or when Hotch came in, only that one minute I was alone in the dark and the next I was outside with Garcia." She shrugged.

Hotch looked at JJ curiously, "Was it you that was screaming?" He asked.

JJ paused, not looking like she wanted to answer his question, "I…the movie, it was…I felt like I couldn't escape it. And the sounds that were coming from it were awful. I had to scream so that I couldn't hear it anymore."

Everyone nodded.

There was a short silence before Hotch spoke again, "Well we're all okay, we're all safe and no one is hurt, but we should be prepared for another challenge coming sooner than we'd expect." He said, "Everyone should get some rest and be ready for anything tomorrow."

The rest of the team nodded and one by one rose from their seats. They climbed into the beds in the corner and tried to sleep, all of them, except for Hotch and Emily.

He looked at her when she didn't get up to leave, "You aren't going to sleep?"

"Are you?" She asked.

Hotch gave a small smile, "Fair enough." He said slowly just before running his fingers through his hair. There was something bothering him.

And Emily could tell, "What wrong?" She asked, lowering her voice in an effort to make it so the team members in their beds wouldn't be able to hear the conversation that they were having.

Hotch shook his head, shrugging. "I don't know. Did JJ's story seem off to you?" He asked, looking at her.

She tilted her head, "It sounded like she was still shaken up by it, but I didn't notice anything…" She trailed off, "Why? Did _you_ think her story was off?"

Hotch looked away from her, at the ground. He didn't want to believe that she wasn't telling the truth, but he had this nagging feeling that there was something she wasn't saying. "This guy is organized, right? He prepares everything ahead of time so why would he waste time having JJ set up a projector?"

Emily thought back to the story JJ told and realized what Hotch was saying, "He wouldn't."

Hotch nodded, "Exactly."

Emily shook her head, "So you think that JJ was lying? Why?"

Hotch shrugged, "I don't know, but it has to have something to do with what was playing on that projector. When Reid asked her what she had been watching, she never answered. And that could be because she's shaken up, but I think it was because she's hiding something. I could see it in her eyes, they looked guarded."

Emily nodded slowly and glanced backwards at JJ who was sleeping on one of the bottom bunks, her back to them. She turned back to Hotch, "What do you think was playing?"

Hotch shook his head, "I don't know, but we have to find out."

That was where their conversation ended.

JJ, who had been lying in her bed facing the wall, had been listening to their conversation. It was barely audible, but if she concentrated and really focused on listening, she was able to hear. They were talking about her. They thought she was lying. She stared at the wall that she was facing and as discreetly as possible, she pulled a phone out of her pocket. It was a small phone, a single-dial phone meaning that it would only call/text and accept calls/texts from one number. The room was still bright, the lights never turned off, so no one would be able notice the bright screen of the cell phone she was holding. She looked at the time displayed in the corner of the small screen.

It was 10:20.

He had told her text or call before 10:30, but she hesitated.

At around 10:25 she finally sent a text, a non-committed text.

_Hello?_

She waited a few moments before seeing the screen of the phone light up with a reply.

_Hello. It was getting close, I thought you weren't going to contact me. Have you thought about the offer I gave you?_

She glanced around, as if scared that her team mates were watching.

_My team and I know who you are. If we can figure it out than the new BAU team can figure it out. You won't be able to get away with it. They'll find you and then you'll be in jail for the rest of your life. _

He replied:

_You think threatening me is going to help your case? Go ahead. It really doesn't make a difference to me. I know what I am capable of. I know that as long as I keep doing what I know how to do, they'll never find me. As for you, you may know who I am…but you haven't realized it yet and your team, they have no idea. Stop trying to waste time, what is your decision?_

She bit her lip.

_My team should be asleep by 2:00. I will be ready then. _

A few moments later:

_Good choice._

Choice? She had no choice. If she didn't do what this man wanted her to do, the aftermath would be devastating. And he called that a choice? She shook her head slightly and listened as Hotch and Emily made their way over to the beds, ready to sleep.

It was only 11:00.

She was sure that by 2 AM, everyone one of her team members would be asleep or at least too groggy to be able to notice what she would be doing. That was her hope anyway, if any of them did happen to be awake, it would ruin everything and could end in the death of someone she loved. So she just prayed they would fall asleep.

The wait was long. She didn't dare try to sleep because if she slept through 2 AM, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She was forced to lie in her bed and listen to the sounds of her team mates sleeping all around her.

Her eyelids started to feel heavy at 1:00 and she still had one hour to go. Focusing on her thoughts, JJ was able to stay awake for another 30 minutes, but at 1:30 she couldn't lay there anymore. She rolled over and climbed out of her bed, walking through the room to the bathroom. As she walked through the doorway, she glanced back to see that most of her team members looked asleep.

She continued and entered the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. As quietly as she could, she turned on the faucet and splashed some of the cool water on her face. That helped wake her up a little bit, but it didn't matter that much. It was 1:40. She only had to wait 20 more minutes and in the bathroom, sitting on the counter next to the sink, she didn't have too much trouble staying awake.

When it was 1:55, JJ walked out of the bathroom and walked to the door.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her. "JJ?"

It was Reid. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the bright white lights of the room that never turned off. He stretched and let out long yawn.

She stared at him for a moment, "Just wake up?"

He shrugged, "Yea and having trouble falling back asleep. What about you?"

JJ glanced backwards at the door behind her. She could hear faint footsteps coming from the other side, "Spence, if I told you to trust me, would you?" She asked.

Confused and still groggy from just waking up, he tilted his head. "Why?" He asked, but then as he realized what she was asking, he shook his head, "Never mind, I definitely would. What's wrong?" He started to stand up.

"Sit down."

He froze, puzzled by her behavior. Slowly, he sat back down on the bed.

JJ gave him a long look, "Reid. You just said you trusted me." She paused, "And right now, I need you to close your eyes."

Reid hesitated, "Why?"

JJ didn't like all this talking they were doing. It would wake the rest of the team and if that happened, she would never be able to pull this off. "Don't you trust me, Spence? I'm asking you to close your eyes, just for a minute. Please."

Reid gave her a long look, noticing the anxiety in her eyes. Slowly, he closed his eyes.

JJ nodded, thankful that he had agreed to do it. She turned around and faced the door again, a few seconds later, it started to open. It was quiet, but Reid, with his eyes closed was able to hear it.

"What is that?" He asked, his eyes still closed.

JJ didn't reply. She gave a small smile to Patrick who was holding the door open for her. And as she started to walk out of the room, she glanced back at Reid, who still had his eyes closed. "I'm sorry." She said, thinking that was really the only thing left that she could say.

"For what?" He asked.

But she was already gone.

* * *

**"She loved mysteries so much that she became one."**

John Green, _Paper Towns_

* * *

**A/N: Got some big chapters coming up soon, I'm pretty excited and I hope you guys are too. Thank you so much for reading and please review, I love reading review, they motivate me and when I'm motivated, I get ideas. So, reviews=better chapters. Thanks again for reading.**


	12. Detour

**"But I was sure of something, too: it's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching, and rarely discovered-so many locks, not enough keys."**

Sarah Dessen

* * *

"So where are we going?" Brooke asked, looking out the windows of Will's car at the large stretches of farmland on both sides of the road. They hadn't seen any remnants of a city for the past hour and she was beginning to get curious.

Will glanced at her, "You probably should've asked that before you got into a car with a complete stranger." He said, "For all you know, I could be the man behind this and you just made my whole job a lot easier."

"I highly doubt that." She said matter-of-factly, "You're too soft."

Will feigned a hurt expression, "Too soft? I was a cop in New Orleans, a job like that would break a writer like yourself in a matter of days."

Brooke chuckled lightly, "But really, where are we going?"

"Pennsylvania."

"Why? What's in Pennsyvlania?"

Will glanced at Brooke again, "It's where JJ grew up. I got in contact with her mom after I found out that the team had gone missing and she invited me to come up and visit. She said that JJ had told them about me, but we'd never gotten to meet. The only problem is that JJ's family has been put into protective custody."

Brooke nodded slowly, "So what does that mean?"

"It means there is going to be a US Marshal at their house that will want to search us and see our IDs. It shouldn't be too bad." He shrugged.

"Why do they need to be protected?"

Will let out a sigh, "JJ's older brother was attacked a few nights ago. He was stabbed several times in the stomach, causing nearly fatal internal bleeding. Luckily, one of the neighbors heard him screaming and found him outside in his front yard. They took him to the hospital right away and apparently, he's going to be okay, but the police decided to put the rest of JJ's family into protective custody because JJ and her brother were both targeted."

Brooke's eyes lit up, "Wait, did you say that JJ's brother survived? That means he could have seen the guy who took them!"

Will didn't look as excited, "That's the thing…ever since he woke up yesterday, he hasn't been talking. JJ's mother said the doctors think he's in some kind of shock. The police, his family and even his friends have all tried to get him to talk, but he hasn't…yet."

Brooke stared at the man sitting next to her, "And you think we'll be able to convince him to talk? He doesn't even know us." She stared at Will in disbelief.

"But he knows and loves JJ, if we can play up to the fact that she's in trouble, he might be willing to help." Will shrugged, "I don't know, I'm not a profiler, I'm just tryin' my best to get some answers."

Brooke nodded slowly, "Me too." She said quietly before looking out the window. The sky was dark. "Should we stop for the night? Unless we're close…?"

Will shook his head, "We're not close. We should stop somewhere, we just have to wait for the next exit. And it's been a while since I've seen one." He said ominously.

"Well how much gas do we have?"

Will looked down at the gage, "'Bout a quarter tank. If we don't see an exit in the next hour, we're gonna be in trouble." He reported.

Brooke nodded and stared out the window, making sure to keep her eyes open for any upcoming exits. She hoped that there would be one soon. Getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere was definitely not something she wanted to go through.

45 minutes passed and just they were both getting antsy, they spotted a road sign that said there was an exit in one mile. They were going to make it, but odds were that the town they were about to be stopping wouldn't be the safest. It would be a rural town in the deep countryside just off of this almost empty highway. Odds were that they weren't going to find a five star hotel or too many fast food restaurants or name brand stores.

Will pulled off of the highway into the small town. The streets were lit with deep orange lights, a few of which were pulsating, looking like they were about to go out. They drove for a few seconds until the gas station came into view. It was an old one where a man would stand and pump gas for the customer. As they pulled in, the man in charge of pumping walked up to their vehicle.

Will rolled down his window halfway, "Do you take credit?"

"If you're talking about credit cards, then yes sir we do, just got one of them scanner things last month. You need to fill the whole tank?" The man asked, his country accent heavy.

Will nodded and pulled his credit card out of his wallet. He hesitated as he handed it over to the man, hoping that this wouldn't end in credit theft. He didn't think it would, this man seemed innocent, trustworthy even.

The man took Will's credit card inside the nearby building.

Brooke looked around the gas station. It was empty. She observed the road to their left, there were no cars driving down it. It seemed like they were the only people in this entire town. It was deserted. "Well, this should be a good part of the book."

Will chuckled lightly, "As long as we eventually get out." He said before turning towards the window again as the man approached their car again.

He handed over Will's credit card. "I'll start fillin' your gas right now, sir." He said before walking around to the side of the car and starting to pump the gas.

Will opened the car door.

Brooke stared at him in disbelief, "What are you doing? Don't you dare get out of this car. If you die, I'll have no way of getting out of here." She whispered urgently.

Will smirked and rolled his eyes, "I'm just askin' him where the hotel is, calm down, I'm a cop."

"You just love throwing that around, don't you?"

Will shut the door and walked over to the man as he pumped, "Hello there. You guys got a hotel around here?" He asked.

The man smiled and nodded, "Just follow this road a few miles that way." he pointed in the direction behind Will. "It should be on your right, it'll have a big sign, you won't miss it. How long ya gonna be in town?"

"Just the night." Will smiled, "Thank you."

The man nodded respectfully, pulled the nozzle out of the car and re-sealed the cap that went over the opening, "You're good to go."

"Thank you." Will repeated before climbing back into the car and heading in the direction that the man had told him, "The hotel is this way."

Brooke nodded.

They arrived at the hotel a few minutes later. It, like the rest of the town, was empty. They checked in easily, deciding to stay in the same room for safety purposes. There were two queen beds in the room. They both settled in quickly, Will was asleep within an hour of their arrival, but Brooke stayed awake a while longer.

At first, she wrote, but later she opened the hotel door and ventured outside. It was cold and dark, but also serenely quiet. She took comfort in it. After about 20 minutes, she returned to the room and continued writing, satisfied. About an hour after that, she went to sleep.

The next morning, they woke early, deciding to get on the road as early as possible. They walked outside with all of their luggage and climbed into the car. They got back onto the highway quickly, not wanting to stay in this town any longer than usual.

"How far away are we from Pennsylvania?"

"We're already in Pennsylvania." Will said, "But we're at least a couple of hours away from the town we're tryin' to get to."

Brooke nodded.

And they descended into silence, both letting their minds wander as they traveled down the long, straight road, beautiful stretches of countryside on both sides. They could have stayed quiet the entire trip and they probably would have if everything had gone as planned.

But it hadn't.

As they drove down the road, Will noticed that he was going slower and slower even though he hadn't taken his foot off the gas. When he tried to accelerate, it didn't work. They were losing speed and fast. Smoke started to seep out of the hood as they rolled to a stop on the side of the road.

Brooke looked concerned, "What happened?"

Will shook his head, "I don't know." He got out of the car and walked up to the hood, pulling it open. He looked through all of the components, trying to figure out what had happened.

Brooke got out of the car too and stood beside him as he worked, "Find the problem?"

"The battery died and we would have been able to wave down a car and get a jump-start, but it also looks like there's a problem with the alternator, so we can't." Will said as he pulled out of the hood to look at Brooke.

She shook her head, "The alternator?"

Will sighed, "It's a part of the car that recharges the battery while driving. It makes it so that the battery shouldn't run low. When a car jump starts, it is what helps the battery come back to life, but ours is broken. The cord that supposed to connect to the car, it's been cut."

"Cut, like by a person?"

Will nodded slowly, "Someone didn't want us to leave. We were lucky to even get this far. Is your phone working? I have Triple A, but my phone died."

Brooke shook her head, "I don't have a charger for mine. I thought we would have time to buy one today." She said, biting her lip. "What are we going to do?"

Will walked out into the middle of the road, looking in both directions. "Of course we pick this road to break down on. It runs parallel to the interstate, meaning everyone will take that because it's faster and no one will come through here." He walked back to the car and opened the door, taking out a book bag he had in the back. It had his clothes and toiletries in it. He picked up a few water bottles, stuffed them into the bag and then grabbed his jacket.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked, even though she thought she already knew the answer.

Will looked at her, "Looks like we're walking."

"Uh, no we're not. They always say to never leave your car! They say that's the worst possible thing you can do when you're in this kind of situation." Brooke told him, shaking her head.

Will held his arms out, "Who? Who said that?"

Brooke shook her head, "We can't just walk. Last night we drove miles without seeing one exit. We're going to have to walk forever before we find civilization, surely someone will drive by soon."

"What about JJ?" Will asked, his voice raising. "We don't have time to waste. Right this second, she's in hell, they're all in hell and we can't just sit here. Wasn't it you that said you can't just sit and wait for a story, you have to go find it? Well we can't just sit and wait now either, we have to go and find them."

Brooke still didn't look convinced.

"Fine. You stay here." Will said, starting to walk down the road. "When someone drives by and picks you up, tell them to drive down this road. I'll probably still be walking." He said over his shoulder.

He didn't look back.

He walked for a few minutes, surprised to not hear her follow him. He had expected that walking away would convince her to come. Apparently not.

Ahead of him the road bent sharply to the right, large trees growing on either side. Once he walked there, they would lose sight of each other. And when he got to the edge of the curve, he turned around.

He could barely see her and he was sure that, because of the distance and the trees that he was standing in, she wasn't able to see him. She was pacing beside the car, holding something.

He squinted.

It was her phone.

She was holding it up to her ear and pacing, talking to someone.

Will was confused at first, but then excited. He started jogging back up towards the car. At first, her back was to him, but as he got closer, she turned around and saw him approaching.

"Decide to come back?" Brooke asked, lowering the phone, "Not a wilderness man, are you?"

Will pointed to the phone, panting. "You got it working?"

Brooke nodded, "Barely. It turned on and I called Triple A, they said they'd be here in a half an hour and then my phone went dead. Hopefully, they'll still come." She said.

Will let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god. Half an hour isn't bad. It's probably less than the hours it would have taken us if we'd walked." He said, shaking his head.

Brooke smirked, "So you're not going to walk anymore? Good. You probably would have died so technically, I just saved your life. You owe me." She joked.

Will chuckled and for the next hour, they talked. Mostly about their pasts, some about JJ and how they would find her, but most of their conversation was happy. It was refreshing and helped to get their minds of their situation. Neither of them seemed to notice the time going by.

But after the hour passed, Will started to realize that Triple A hadn't arrived.

"Did you get a chance to tell them where we were?" Will asked.

Brooke nodded, "I told them we were broken down on the side of Highway 25 headed north, just outside of the Allegheny." She recited.

Will looked around, "I wonder where they are."

She shrugged, "I don't know."

Their pleasant conversation was over. More time went by and still no Triple A. That was when Will started to get antsy again. He started to pace beside the car, rubbing his forehead. "We have to go." He said.

Brooke stared at him, "What? No. What if they're only a few minutes away?"

"What if they're not?"

They both stared at each other for a long time before Brooke finally gave in and started walking towards him, mumbling something about how it was going to get dark soon.

Will followed behind her, almost surprised that she had suddenly agreed to come along. "Good thing I have a flashlight then." He replied to the mumble that he had heard.

And they started on their way.

The road was long, endless. It started to get dark about an hour after they had left the car. There weren't lights on the road and there was a forest on either side so it was almost completely dark except for the flashlight Will was shining ahead of them. It felt like they were never going to get there.

They walked in silence for a long time, both deep in their thoughts.

It wasn't until the darkness came that Brooke decided to break it, "How'd you two meet?"

Will looked over at her, "Who? Me and JJ?" He smiled and looked down at the ground, "My father had just died in hurricane Katrina. We were working on a case that he had left behind. Men were turning up dead all around the French Quarter and my dad had worked on it before Katrina and after he died, the killer returned. But my dad had left a clue for me: the word 'Jones' scratched into a desk in our old house. He had scratched it there during the storm before he was killed."

Brooke creased her eyebrows, "Jones?"

Will nodded slowly, "That's what I said. Jones? I had no idea what that meant so we just looked all the Jones' in New Orleans up and checked to see if any of them had criminal records. We didn't get any leads. So we called the FBI. A few days later they showed up, just in time for another body." He smirked, "And on the team there were four men and two women. One of them was JJ. She was so beautiful…And I just remember her being so compassionate always saying 'We're gonna get this guy' and 'Your dad would be proud of what you're doing'. She said the things that I really needed to hear. So I figured I would started flirting. And she flirted back. That's how it started."

Brooke chuckled and shook her head, "You two go good together." She paused for a moment, "And I really admire what you're doing. I never would have thought to take it into my own hands, but it seemed like you didn't even hesitate."

Will shrugged modestly. "I just think that the more people that are lookin' for them, the better chance they have." He sighed and stared forward again, squinting.

Brooke followed his gaze, squinting. Up ahead, she could see a something small and green on the side of the road. "Is that a sign?"

Will nodded and started to pick up his pace. It took about 10 minutes for them to get close enough to actually be able to read what it said.

**Exit 17A - Brentwood**

**1 Mile**

Brooke looked at Will, "Is that close to where we're trying to go?"

He nodded quickly, "Really close actually. We should just spend the night here and then take a cab to East Allegheny tomorrow. The fare shouldn't be that bad. I think it's only an hour away."

Brooke nodded and gave him a small smile, "Well let's get going then. We have some ground to make up." She said, walking past him in the direction of the exit they would be going to.

Will followed, catching up with her a few seconds later, "Somebody's finally in the spirit." He smirked, "Just think. By this time tomorrow, we'll be in East Allegheny, talkin' to JJ's brother. We may have even gotten him to talk by now."

Brooke looked over at him, "Optimism. I like it."

They ended their conversation on that note, traveling to the small town of Brentwood with their hopes high and their feet sore. Luckily, Will had remembered to bring his credit card. He charged the hotel room on his card. They took showers and then climbed into bed simultaneously, both falling asleep in less than an hour.

* * *

It was 2:30 AM. The Brentwood Police Station/Fire Department was quiet. It was the middle of the night in a small town, they usually didn't have much action. Paramedics, dispatchers, firefighters and police officers all sat in one building. Some slept, others read or studied or watched TV.

The two paramedics on call that night were outside by the ambulance. They had gotten called to a house a few miles away where an elderly man had fallen out of his bed. Not exactly exciting. He had sustained a minor head injury, probably not even a concussion, but just to be safe they took him to the hospital because he lived alone and there was no one to take care of him.

So after the call, they had to re-stock the ambulance and clean off the equipment they'd used in that last call.

The senior paramedic, as he cleaned off the stretcher, turned to the younger trainee. "So what do you think about your first night on road? Is it everything you thought it would be?" He said, smirking.

The trainee smiled and nodded, "Everything and more." He said sarcastically.

The other man, John, smirked. "Some nights are more exciting than others. Once the sun rises though, more calls will come, especially because tomorrow is Saturday." He said.

"I thought there would be a good amount of calls on a Friday night though." The younger man said, confused.

John shrugged, "It really depends. Usually Saturdays are the worst, Fridays can be bad, but this one is very quiet. It also may be because it's already 2:30. Even most of the clubs are closed by now." He explained. "Don't worry though Matt, I promise that you'll see something exciting soon. And when it happens, just make sure you're prepared for it."

Matt gave a small nod, going over the procedures he'd learned in his head. He was secretly a little bit nervous about the first serious call that they would get and he had a feeling that it was going to be soon.

When they finished with the ambulance, they went back inside the building just in time to have the pagers on their belts beep.

"Looks like we got a call." John said quickly, jogging back downstairs to the ambulance, Matt behind him.

They climbed into the vehicle. In the front seat, there was a small monitor. It gave them the address of the emergency, directions and all the details that the dispatcher had gotten from the call.

John put the ambulance in gear and then sped off, following the directions on the small screen. "What do we got?"

Matt leaned towards the screen, "27 year old male, stabbed multiple times in the abdomen and lower chest area. Patient called 911 himself. Police are not on the scene yet, but based on the 911 call, they already suspect foul play."

John nodded, taking in all the information he could. "Alright put your gloves on and then pull out a medium pair for me. When we get there, you go to the patient, if you see anything or anyone suspicious, do not approach. Come back and wait until the police get here. If you don't see anything, do what you can for the patient for a few minutes while I put my gloves on and get the bandages, got it?"

Matt nodded, "Got it."

They arrived at the hotel a few minutes after that. They knew exactly which room to go to and the dispatcher had called the manager of the hotel ahead of time so he had already unlocked the room for them.

Matt ran out of the car and into the room. There was a cleaning woman, putting pressure on the man's bleeding wounds already. She was hysterical, tears streaming down her face. He didn't see her as a threat so he approached. He crouched down beside her. "I'll take it from here." He said.

She met his eyes and nodded thankfully, removing her hands from the bleeding wounds.

Matt reached down and pressed down on his wounds. He leaned towards the man, it appeared that he was still conscious. "Hello, sir. Can you open your eyes for me?" He asked calmly.

The man's eyes lulled open and he coughed painfully.

"Alright that's good. Sir, what is your name? Take your time." Matt said, pressing harder on the wounds as the blood seeped through his fingers. Where was John?

The man coughed again, this time blood dripped out of his mouth.

Matt gulped. That was not a good sign. He reached up with one of his hands and turned the man's head to the side. "Keep your head like that. When you cough, try to get all of the blood out. Spit if you need to."

The man looked at Matt, panic in his eyes, "M…my n-n..name…" He gulped, "M…m-y-y…na-n-name-i-is…W-wi-will-william…La…LaMon…LaMontagne…Jr."

Matt looked at the man, "William LaMontagne Jr."

The man nodded frantically. He looked like he wanted to speak again, but before he could, he was plagued by a coughing fit.

"Hey, William. I need you to stay awake for me. Stay with me, alright? Listen to my voice." Matt said reassuringly, "Is there any record of diseases or conditions in your family such as heart disease or diabetes?"

Will shook his head.

Matt nodded slowly, "And do you have any other conditions? AIDS? Hypoglycemia? Anything?"

Will shook his head again.

"Okay last thing, stay with me Will, last thing I promise." Matt said gently, "Can you tell me what your blood type is?"

Will nodded, "A." He practically coughed out.

"A?"

He nodded.

Matt nodded, pressing down further on the wounds. "Alright, good. Just focus on the sound of my voice Will. You seem like a nice guy, you look tan. I bet you're from the South." He said just trying to say something to comfort the patient.

Will nodded.

Just then, before Matt could go on, John finally came into the room, carrying bandages, a neck brace, a large plastic backboard and the large, rolling stretcher.

Quickly, silently, John checked his vitals. "BP is high, heart rate is high. His adrenaline is pumping." He said as he pulled out a needle and quickly started an IV for Will, pushing pain killers. "This should help him calm down."

Matt nodded, wrapping his stomach in temporary bandages just for the ride to the hospital. He scooted up towards Will's head and lifted it up gently. Underneath, he saw blood. "Possible head injury. He needs a neck brace."

John reached up and strapped the brace on carefully.

Gently, the two paramedics got the plastic backboard underneath Will so that they could lift him off of the ground and onto the stretcher. Once on the stretcher, they rolled him towards the ambulance.

This was Matt's first real call. He stared down at the man, now slipping out of consciousness and couldn't help feeling like he had failed. He wanted to help, but there was nothing else he could do and that didn't seem like a good enough answer.

They loaded him into the ambulance and raced to the hospital.

Outside of the room, as the ambulance drove away, the manager of the hotel was talking to the police, arguing actually. "Look, I'm telling you. Late last night, that man, William LaMontagne checked in with a _woman_, I never learned her name. They were both staying in that room."

"But if he was stabbed and left for dead…" One police officer said, "Then where is the woman?"

There was a moment of silence.

A different officer was the first to suggest what they were all thinking, "Was she the one…?"

That was when the forensic analyst standing by joined the conversation. "No. It could not have been her. There is an apparent struggle, but we've determined from the blood spatter patterns on the bed and position of the body, that the man was taken out within the first few minutes of the attacker's arrival. He was stabbed in the bed and then later called 911 and crawled out of the bed, probably trying to reach the door. But the room is trashed. That means that the woman must have put up a fight against the attacker." He glanced at the ground.

A police officer noticed. "What?"

"There is blood on the far wall on the corner of a painting. It looks like someone may have hit their head against it. The impact wouldn't have been enough to kill someone, but probably enough to render them unconscious. The blood is not the man's. We have a processor in the van and this blood was type B, the man was type A. And because we don't have the woman's DNA, we won't be able to tell if it's her blood or not, but it's likely that it is." He let out a small sigh.

"So the attacker went for the biggest threat first, the man, and then…took the woman?"

One of the officers crossed his arms, "Why?"

That was a question that would remain unanswered for these cops for months…until the case would go cold. They would never learn why this attacker had taken that woman, where he had taken her, or what he had done to her.

They would search and wonder, proposing theories and explanations, but there was one brutal truth that was unknown to these small-town officers:

Only a few states away there were six highly-trained FBI agents facing the same problem that they were.

* * *

**"All our mortal lives are set in danger and perplexity: one day to prosper, and the next - who knows? When all is well, then look for rocks ahead."**

Sophocles


	13. Patterns

**"It was like when you make a move in chess and just as you take your finger off the piece, you see the mistake you've made, and there's this panic because you don't know yet the scale of disaster you've left yourself open to."**

Kazuo Ishiguro

* * *

Hotch was walking down a straight hallway. There were no doors on the walls, no paintings, no dirt, just a plain, clean, concrete hallway. At the end of it there was a window. Curiously, he started walking. It was quiet. He examined the walls, wondering where he was and how he would get out. He assumed he would have to go out the window. He continued walking, getting closer to it. As he walked, he was able to see some of the scenery outside. It looked like a beautiful day. He could see large trees in the distance, blooming with bright pink flowers. The sun was shining and a flock of white birds flew by the window. He almost wanted to smile.

He was only a few feet away when the hallway started to shake. There was a loud banging noise and every time he heard it, the hallway would vibrate vigorously like an earthquake. He tried to keep walking towards the window, but the ground was shaking so much that he couldn't stay standing. So he got on his hands and knees and crawled. But once he finally reached the window, he realized that the sunny sky was gone. Now the sky was dark. Lightning flashed, striking one of the beautiful trees that he'd seen blooming just a few minutes before.

And suddenly, a loud voice reached his ears as the hallway continued to shake violently. At first, he was unable to make out what the voice was saying, but after a few minutes of listening to it call the same thing over and over again, he was able to figure out what it was yelling:

JJ.

It was yelling, "JJ! JJ! Come back!"

He looked around for a moment, looking for her. She wasn't in the hallway stretching behind him, but when he looked out the window again, he saw her. It was raining, pouring actually. She was running through the grass, hair flying out behind her. She ran up the large hill. He tried to call out for her, but no sound would come out of his mouth. He tried to open the window, but it didn't budge.

She jogged up the hill and when she reached the top, she looked back for a moment, but didn't see him in the window.

He tried to get her attention, but she just turned and disappeared down the other side of the hill.

But before he could even start to wonder where she was, he felt someone grabbing him. He jumped in surprise, closing his eyes.

When he opened them, he found himself face to face with Emily. He scanned the room quickly, realizing that everything he'd just seen had been a dream and now, he was awake. He saw Reid by the door, trying to open it, Morgan and Garcia on either side of him.

"What's going on?" Hotch asked groggily.

Emily glanced behind her at Reid, "JJ is gone."

That woke him up, "Woah what? What do you mean she's gone?" He asked, sitting up and looking around the room, checking to see if she was there, like he thought maybe Emily had made a mistake. But JJ wasn't there.

Emily shook her head, "Ask Reid." She turned and started walking towards the man still shaking the door handle. As they approached, he banged a few times on the door.

Hotch flinched, realizing that was the banging noise from his dream.

"Reid, tell Hotch what happened." Emily said when they reached him.

He turned around and looked at Hotch, "She's gone. I…I…" He shook his head and glanced back at the door. "I…I had just woken up. It was bright in the room and I tried to fall back asleep, but I couldn't. And then I heard a noise come from the bathroom…it was the water running. I wondered who was in there so I rolled to my other side just in time to see JJ walk out. She started walking towards the door." He gulped, "I called out her name. She asked me if I had just woken up, I said yes and I asked her what she was doing awake, but she didn't answer. Out of nowhere she just asked if I would trust her if she told me to. At first, I asked why, but then I just said yes, because I would. I stood up and started to walk to her, kind of concerned. But she told me to sit down. She sounded serious so…I did. She told me to close my eyes. She told me to trust her. So I closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I heard a noise. It sounded like the door opening. But I kept my eyes closed. I asked what was going on and she just said she was sorry. I asked for what, but she never replied." He said solemnly.

Hotch shook his head, "I knew it. I knew there was something she wasn't telling us. When she was explaining her story, it was just…too vague." He said.

Emily looked at Hotch, "What are you suggesting? That she…left?"

"Well Reid was sitting right there. And he didn't hear a struggle so she had to have went willingly. Plus, it seems suspicious to me that she was already awake and walking to the door when Reid saw her." Hotch stated, "She was waiting for someone."

Morgan, who was standing nearby, looked up, "But why?"

_Good question Agent Morgan. I so wish that I could give you the answer, but you see…that is between Jennifer and I. You shouldn't worry. Jennifer is probably better off than all of you. She will not be participating in the few upcoming tests, but I may choose to bring her back later. Right now, I'm just enjoying her company. Moving on, today is test number three. This one is completely mental. You'll see how in just one moment. The door is unlocked. I want you to go the right and enter room number 205. There will be five chairs set in a circle around a single chair in the center. I suggest that the person who chooses to be in the hot seat prepares themselves to think critically. _

The members of the team all looked at each other at the same moment, looking for someone to make a decision. They all seemed hesitant to leave the safety of this room to go into the hell that they knew would be waiting for them.

It was Rossi who finally spoke the voice of reason: "Come on." Was all he said as he walked towards the door.

And they followed.

They entered room 205 with heavy hearts, knowing that this test was going to push them and they couldn't break. They had to hold strong, as a team.

As the unsub had promised, there were five chairs set in a circle with one single chair sitting in the center. There were wires going to the five chairs in the outer circle with ends that looked almost like suction cups.

Reid looked around at this team mates and then walked up to the center seat, sitting down confidently. He was, arguably, a genius. If anyone could think through this test, it was him. The rest of the team occupied the seats around him.

_Hook yourselves up. There should be four suction cups running to each chair. Everyone will put stick two cups on each of their wrists and then stick each of the remaining two cups on either side of their neck, right and left. Dr. Reid, just relax in the middle right now. Everyone else get to it._

The team, hesitantly, did as they were told.

Once they were all finished, the unsub's voice boomed from the speaker again.

_Alright, let's start. Now, everyone lift your feet up off the ground and then be quiet and listen. _

They did, and faintly, they could all hear a buzzing sound, but couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from.

_Hear the buzzing? It's something brilliant that I've come up with. You see, in this challenge I had to make it so that none of you could get up or move. So I put in receptors and magnets, well…the point is: if you touch the floor, you'll be shocked. The voltage is turned up pretty high so I strictly advise you to avoid the floor at all costs. The challenge is simple. Dr. Reid, the suction cups on your team mates are hooked up to another system that I have created. Your team mates' wires make up an electrical circuit. And with the use of switches and other devices, I am able to control which team member the electricity will flow through. For those who aren't following, this means that I can control when each team member will be shocked. Dr. Reid, your job is to determine the pattern in which I am shocking them. It is specific. I will shock each team member once and then the pattern starts over. You have three chances. Every wrong guess, I will turn up the voltage. After the third wrong guess, I will stop controlling the electricity. It will flow through the circuit freely, shocking all the team members at once. After a few minutes of continuous electricity, their hearts will be unable to continue beating with a steady rhythm. The cardiac muscle that contracts the heart will stiffen and go into a spasm, causing death about a minute later. The stakes are high, but I assure you…it isn't complicated. Don't over think this, Dr. Reid. Take all the time you need before you answer, but remember that the longer you take to consider an answer, the more pain your team mates will have to go through. Good luck. Here we go. _

Reid looked around the circle, memorizing where each of the team members were sitting. He looked around, "When you get shocked, it would help if you gave some type of vocal indication so I can determine the pattern quicker. I'm sorry in advance for the pain you might feel."

Emily looked at him, "It's not your fault. Just do your best." She said reassuringly, giving him the supportive smile that she knew he needed.

There was a short silence and then, to Reid's left, he saw Hotch tense and let out a low grunt. The shock lasted for a few seconds before quickly moving on. The next person to get shocked was Morgan, who was seated directly behind Reid. He let out a grunt just like Hotch before letting out a few loud pants when it was over. Next it went to Garcia, who was to Reid's right. She let out a gasp when it hit her, but after that, was silent. When it was over, Morgan asked her if she was okay, but Reid didn't hear the answer because he saw Emily, sitting directly across from him, getting shocked. She clenched her teeth, letting out a wince. It looked painful, but she put on a brave face when it was over. Sitting next to Emily was Rossi, who got shocked last.

So Reid had the complete order.

Hotch, Morgan, Garcia, Emily, Rossi.

At first he thought age, but that didn't make sense with Emily and Garcia towards the end. He bit his lip, hearing Hotch get shocked again. He remembered that the order was going to restart.

Hotch, Morgan, Garcia, Emily, Rossi.

It could be about the team. Status, ranking maybe. He thought for a moment, realizing that didn't make sense either. Emily and Rossi would be ranked above Garcia.

Then, just as Morgan was getting shocked for the second time, it came to him. It was the order that the team members had joined the team. Hotch, Morgan, Garcia, Emily, Rossi. It fit perfectly, but he still hesitated before answering. It seemed too easy.

Garcia let out a whimper when she got shocked, it sounded more painful to her the second time.

Reid shook his head, he had to try something. "I got it." He said loudly, over the wince that Emily let out. "It's the order that each of them joined the team." He stated, hoping, praying that it was right.

_That does fit, Dr. Reid, but it is not the correct answer. Look closer and the answer will make itself clear. You have two more tries._

The unsub finished talking just in time for Reid to hear Morgan get shocked for the third time. He let out a louder, drawn-out grunt this time. The cycle was traveling faster and the voltage had been turned up. He needed to figure out the order and soon.

He tried to think of other reason for a few seconds before realizing that the whole system could be a mathematical equation. Five chairs in a circular pattern. He tried to think of any equations involving something like that. Numbers rushed through his head as he considered numerical equations and sequences. He turned, looking at each of the chairs, trying not to pay attention to each of the painful noises his team mates were making. That was when he noticed something. On each of the chairs in the circle, there was a small slip of paper taped to the left leg, but it was too small for him to see what it said.

"Emily." He said, seeing that she had just gotten shocked and would have more time before the next wave. "Can you reach down to the left leg of your chair and get the slip of paper?"

She looked tired, but she nodded slowly and reached down with shaking fingers, pulling the piece of paper off of her chair. Before she could read it, the cycle caught up to her, shocking her. She tensed and let out painful pants, but was able to keep hold of the slip of paper.

"I'm so sorry." Reid said quickly, "Can you read what it says?" He asked.

Emily looked down at it, "Charles Dickens." She stated dryly, her voice weak.

"Charles Dickens?" Reid shook his head, confused. He needed to know what the rest of the small papers said. "Okay," He spoke loudly to the rest of the circle, "can everyone reach down to the left leg of their chair and get the small slip of paper taped to it?"

They all nodded and reached for the papers, periodically pausing when they were shocked. When they all had them, Reid spoke again.

"Alright, Morgan what does yours say?"

Morgan looked up, "F. Scott Fitzgerald?" He gave a small shrug.

Reid nodded, another author, a famous author at that. "Okay, got it. Garcia?"

"Kurt Vonnegut."

Reid nodded, discovering a pattern of authors. He just wasn't sure how they would relate to create this pattern. "Alright, Rossi what does yours say?"

Rossi had just gotten shocked so he was panting heavily, "Oh um…" He looked down at the slip, "Leo Tolstoy." He said, his voice rough.

Reid nodded and turned to the last person, "Hotch?"

"Herman Melville."

Reid nodded. So the order he had first thought of was wrong. It wasn't Hotch, Morgan, Garcia, Emily, Rossi. It was Melville, Fitzgerald, Vonnegut, Dickens, Tolstoy. All famous authors, from which he had read plenty of books. But what did they have to do with the order? How did they connect?

They were all from different time periods in history and wrote about a various array of subjects, none of which seemed to connect. It seemed impossible that they would go together somehow. This whole situation seemed impossible. Reid started to spiral. Why did they pick him? He couldn't figure this out. He would be responsible for the death of his friends and he would have to watch it happen. He shook his head.

"Reid." He heard suddenly.

He looked up, it was Emily. Her whole body was shaking now and he knew it had something to do with the electricity that was flowing through her body, but he didn't have time to think about it.

"I was thinking-" She started, but then her eyes shifted to the left as she saw Garcia get shocked again. She knew her turn was coming so she paused and waited. It happened suddenly, causing her body to tense. She let out an estranged noise, full of pain, that he could tell she tried to stifle, but couldn't. When it was finished, she tried again, "I was thinking…this unsub knows us, like _knows us_. If he gave us a mental challenge and told us we could pick one person, who do you think he knew we could pick?"

Reid stared at her, realizing what she was saying, "Me."

She nodded quickly, "You, Reid. It's you."

That sent Reid's brain into a completely new perspective. It was all about him. The unsub had known that they were going to pick him to do this and he knew very intimate and personal things about each of them. He had to think. How was he connected to these authors?

He tried to think, but then it clicked. He'd read books by all of these authors in his childhood, but he couldn't remember the order that he had read them to check if it was right. He thought of Herman Melville, the first in the order. He wrote Moby Dick.

Reid thought for a moment and nodded, he remembered reading that when he was nine. He remembered getting teased when carrying it in the hallway through his elementary school. But he pushed those thoughts away. So that was in the correct spot of the order.

The second in the order was F. Scott Fitzgerald. He immediately thought of The Great Gatsby. And he knew that he'd remembered getting that for Christmas when he was eleven. So that fit in the order as well.

He moved to the next author, Kurt Vonnegut. He thought of various books he'd read by this author, but the first one? It had to be between Slapstick and Slaughterhouse-Five. Which was it? He thought of Slapstick. He vaguely remembered carrying that through high school, but Slaughterhouse-Five...he'd had it during middle school. And that fit in the pattern.

Next was Charles Dickens and that was a problem for Reid because he clearly remembered reading A Christmas Carol when he was seven years old during Christmas time. And that wouldn't fit in the order. That should have come first, but it didn't. He shook his head, drawing a blank. Suddenly, he remembered reading another book by Dickens…A Tale of Two Cities and he had been fourteen. That made more sense.

Last, there was Leo Tolstoy who was most known for War and Peace, which Reid knew he'd read at fifteen years old.

They all fit. That had to be it. That had to be the reason.

He looked at his team mates, they all looked tired. He hoped that this would be right. It had to be.

Reid tilted his head up towards the ceiling and stated his findings, "It is the order of the books I read as I child. Moby Dick by Herman Melville at 9, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald at 11, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut at 13, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens at 14 and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy at 15." He said.

There was a short pause in which the unsub said nothing and his friends continued to be shocked.

Reid's stomach dropped, he was wrong? How? What else could it mean? Before he had time to launch into another theory, he heard the unsub.

_Correct. Please wait a few moments for me to discontinue the electricity on the floor. I will tell you when it is safe. _

There was another silence after that. The team members looked at each other as if waiting for the shocking to start again, but it didn't. This unsub, as he had proven countless times, did what he promised.

"Well done, Reid." Hotch said, panting. He reached down to his wrist and tenderly pulled off the suction cup. On his skin, where the cup had just been, there was a small burn. It was probably from the numerous shocks. He reached up and pulled off the other ones too only to find the same small, circular burns. As the other team members did the same, they found burns as well.

Reid looked around, examining the burns from where he was. "First degree. We should wash them out when we get back to the room. It may take time for them to heal because we don't have ointment or wraps, but after a few days, maybe a week, it should be okay." He reported.

_Ointment and wraps are waiting for you already in your room so that should speed up the healing process. The floor is completely safe now, you may proceed back into your room now. _

Reid reached down and touched the floor with his foot. Nothing happened. So he stood up and looked around at the other members. They were all standing. He walked towards the door and pulled it open, entering the dark hallway. He looked to the left, towards their room and then to the right, towards the rooms where they had done the test before.

He got an idea.

Looking back at his team mates, he spoke quickly and quietly. "Emily, come with me really quick. Everyone else, can you walk back to the room, slowly, buy us some time? We'll be right back. I'll explain later." He turned and went to the right.

The rest of the team, without asking questions, went to the left, walking slowly.

Reid walked down the hall until he reached the series of rooms where their individual tests had taken place. He remembered exactly which room everyone had been in. And he walked straight to room 207: JJ's. He pulled the door open easily, remembering that it locked from outside.

"Can you hold this open for me?" Reid asked Emily.

She nodded quickly and grabbed the door, holding it open as he went inside.

It was dark, but there was small amount of light coming from the hallway that helped him see. He saw the small table where the projector was set up. It appeared that the unsub hadn't cleaned any of this up yet. He walked over to the machine, found the outlets that it was plugged into, unplugged it and picked it up, making sure not to leave any wires behind. He rushed out of the room and into the hallway.

Emily shut the door behind him.

He looked at her for a moment before rushing down the hall towards the team, who had just reached the room. They rejoined them as they were going inside.

He walked over and set the projector down on the table.

"A projector?" Rossi asked, looking at it as he set it down.

Reid nodded slowly, about to explain, but Hotch beat him to it.

"That was JJ's test. She watched something on this projector and then, that night, she left. So if we watched what she watched, we might know why." Hotch explained to Rossi.

"And where." Reid added as he looked around for an outlet. To his pleasure, there was one to the right of the bathroom door. He plugged in the wires and then walked back over to the projector.

_You want to watch what she watched?_

The team looked up, surprised by the unsub's voice. They knew that he was watching. He'd probably seen them bring in the projector, but it didn't matter because it didn't sound like he was going to stop them from watching it.

_Go ahead, watch it. But can I ask you something? What if she lied to you about the film because she didn't want you to know what was on it? I know you think you know her, but do you really? You think you know each other, but do you really? Think about that._

"Don't listen to him." Hotch said, shaking his head. "He doesn't want us to watch it because he knows what's on it. He doesn't want us to know why JJ left."

_Fine suit yourself._

Suddenly, the lights went off. The unsub had probably turned them off. It made their room dark, almost pitch black. And Reid, closest to the projector, reached down and pressed the button that would turn it on. It switched on a few moments later, starting to project images on the wall. The team stood there, watching, unaware of the horrors that they were about to see.

* * *

**"Awareness is the enemy of sanity, for once you hear the screaming, it never stops."**

Emilie Autumn


End file.
